#i am begging this man to take the brown scales test he would be off the charts | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kiirokero · 3 years

Text

Seashell (KNJ)

Pairing: Merman!Namjoon x MarineBiologist!Reader

Genre: Fluff, Angst, Merman!Au, Strangers to friends to lovers

Word Count: 4,393

Summary: Working as a marine biologist was a dream. You loved the ocean and its creatures, and one of those creatures loves you back. What happens when things go sideways and you have nowhere else to go besides to the one person who felt like home?

Warnings: Slight allusion to animal mistreatment.

Note: This took way too long...

You breathed in the fresh salty air of the beach; it stung your nostrils pleasantly as you sighed, content laced in the action. The sunset on the horizon was beautiful, decorating the soft sand and calm waters delicately. Every day after work, you would walk down from your house that was up the hill, towards the soothing beach you saw every day. You could clearly see your small beachside house from the shore, making the rarely visited beach that much more intimate.

Just like always, you played along the shore like a little kid. Drawing things in the sand, splashing around in the shallow waters, collecting seashells. It was just the thing you needed after a long shift at work. The sand between your toes and the salty air in your hair calmed the tension you had from the hours before. Being a marine biologist wasn't easy, especially when you were constantly getting into arguments with your boss over the health and safety of the local coral reef. He always said it wasn't a huge priority, but in imminent danger or not, you felt it needed to be protected more.

"Why can't he understand that it's better to protect it now rather than later?" You grumbled, taking a seat on a rock that breached the barrier between shore and ocean. A cliff stretching overtop half-way, giving the area a cave-like feeling. You walked to the edge and put your feet in the cool water, smiling as the familiar tide of the salty water caressed your skin. You splashed the water around, watching the deep blue swirl in a smooth dance, the deep orange light of the lowering sunset blushing the surface with blinding sparkles. It mesmerized you. So much so, that when you felt something brush up against your feet, it gave you a heart attack.

You shot your feet out of the water and slid away from the edge of the rock. Breathing unevenly as you looked down at your feet for any abnormalities. After you calmed down, you chuckled at yourself for overreacting, "Gosh, it was probably just seaweed... Scardy cat." You moved back towards the edge, peering into the deep blue, tumbling backward when a sudden splash caught you off guard. You shrieked, falling on your back, groaning at the sudden, sharp pain it caused.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!" You heard a deep voice say, you sat up and looked at the source of the mysterious speaking. Eyes landing on a muscular man with honey tan skin. Deep, sparkling brown eyes. Wet dark blue hair saturated with water. But what caught you off guard the most was the fin-like appendages protruding from the man's forearms, resembling those of a fish, the shape familiar to you as you saw the same appendages on the little creatures you interacted with on a day-to-day basis.

You didn't even realize you weren't moving or speaking until he spoke up again. "Um... Hello? Are you okay?" You blinked before nodding a 'yes', not trusting your words flow out of your mouth. He gave you a smile, and you didn't miss the beautiful dimples that adorned his equally beautiful face. He placed his hands on the edge of the rock and pushed himself out of the water, landing on the edge with a thud. You gawked at his toned body and strength. If only you knew what to expect when you looked down.

Your eyes almost fell out of your head when you saw that instead of legs, the man had a beautiful blue tail. Scales shining in the light as they effortlessly flowed down the limb. Scales also dotted around his abdomen, creating a satisfying transition from human to sea creature. The man noticed you staring and chuckled, the sound deep as it vibrated against your ears.

"Never seen a merman before?" He teased.

"M-merman?" You echoed.

"Yeah, you know, half fish half man."

"You guys are real?!" You shrieked.

"Ouch, yes, of course we're real."

You realized your harsh words and quickly apologized, "I was just surprised is all... This isn't a prank... right?" You cautioned. He shook his head and motioned you to come closer, which you did. Something was telling you the man should unsettle you, that you should scamper back to your house, locking the door, far away from the mystery man. But another part of you trusted him. Maybe it was the fact he resembled a human, or maybe it was the curiosity of the marine biologist in you, you weren't sure.

The man gently took your hand and placed it on his tail. You let out a quiet gasp as the familiar feeling of fish scales met your fingertips. No doubt it was entirely fishlike, the way it felt semi slimy but smooth. He took your hand again and put it on the fin that was attached to his forearm, and yet again, it felt just like a fish, down to the T.

"Believe me now?" He asked.

"Y-yeah," You nodded, "I'm Y/N by the way..."

"Namjoon."

"Nice to meet you, Namjoon."

You didn’t go back to the beach for a couple days, scared to face the reality that you thought was just a dream. But it wasn’t, the pain in your back told you otherwise. Merman. The word ran through your head over and over. Merman. The creature that originally made you curious about the ocean was real. It breathed, swam, talked.

How was this even biologically possible? You always thought that if Merfolk were real, they’d be bald for less traction in the water, have more scales than skin, no nose even. But Namjoon was handsome. Like a siren. His skin had this beautiful honey glow and he seemed to be sculpted by Poseidon. He had the looks of a god, yet when he smiled he turned into a cutie.

You sat on your back porch thinking about him, the setting sun a familiar memory. Why are you thinking about him? You wanted to say it’s because you're a scientist and he interests you biologically, but deep down, you know that’s not the truth. He interests you as a person. How could someone so good looking be so shy and clumsy?

You sighed, opting to go see if he was there at the rock. It wasn’t a long walk; you got there in no time, but the place seemed to be vacant. Nothing but you and the waves brushing up against the rocks. It was quite calm today, calmer than normal, which made you want to stay here for a bit. The sight was familiar, the setting sun, orange rays, sparkling ocean. You took a deep breath, humming at the distinct smell of sand and salt. It was always so lovely.

“You’re back.”

Surprisingly, you didn’t jump six feet in the air when you heard his voice, you just calmly turned your head to the side. There he was in all his tan glory, the setting sun making him look ethereal. “Yeah... I am.” You sighed. “I thought I scared you away...” Namjoon said gloomily, swimming over to where you dipped your legs in the water. You didn’t say anything back, what could you say? ‘Hey, you’re literally defying everything I learned in college and I don’t know what’s true anymore’? That was one reason, but the most damning one was, ‘You interest me as a person, and nobody interests me. It’s scary how we seem to click.’ How do you say that?

“I... don’t scare you, do I?” Namjoon asked, making sure to keep some distance between the two of you. “You don’t have to be scared, I’m not dangerous.” You giggled at his words. No, you didn’t think he was dangerous, if he wanted to kill you he would’ve done it earlier. What was dangerous is the way you want to be around him. You wanted to make him smile, you wanted to get to know him. You never felt that with anyone else. It was dangerous how much you wanted to have him as a friend. “I know that, but finding out that Mermen exist was a shock.” You partially admitted. “I guess it would be for anybody.” He chuckled. “But you came back.” He pointed out.

“Yeah, I did.” He swam closer, testing if you were going to push him away. “Why?” He whispered. You bit the inside of your cheek, you were never good at lying, and he’s asking the question you desperately wanted to answer with a lie. But you couldn’t. Not when he was looking at you like you weren’t a selfish human. “I’d like to say it’s because the scientist in me is curious about mermen.. But the truth is, you just interest me as a person.” Namjoon was silent for a bit, contemplation clear on his face.

“You’re a scientist?” He finally said. “Marine Biologist.” You clarified. His eyes lit up, and in his excitement, jumped up on the rock and cupped your face in his soft hands. “So you like the ocean?” He gasped and you swore you could see stars in his eyes. “Yes, I love the ocean and everything about it.” You chuckled. “Then we’d be great friends!” His smile was huge and you couldn’t help the urge to poke one of his dimples.

Friends... Could you be friends?

"Not fair, fish boy!" You yelled. "Oh, it's totally fair!" Namjoon retorted, splashing you with water once again, using his massive tail to his advantage. It felt like getting hit by a tidal wave. "You play so dirty!" You complained, sending a splash towards him, weak compared to his tsunami. It had been two years since your first encounter with Namjoon. The day you went back to the beach again, the two of you talked and got to know each other. At first, you planned to go home and finally forget about him, but after a lot of begging, Namjoon convinced you to come back, and then it became a habit.

Namjoon swam up to you and pulled you close into his arms. He usually did this when he saw you were tiring from keeping yourself afloat. "You're not fair." You huffed as you rested your head on his chest. You heard him laugh, deep and smooth, causing you to smile. Namjoon became your only friend since you could never connect with the people you interacted with daily. He would bring you shells, pearls, flora, and much more. Your house looked like a beach itself.

"I'm so lucky I found you, Y/N." Namjoon sighed, you looked up at him and smiled, "What makes you say that?" You tilted your head to the side, awaiting a response. "You're just so.. awesome. You teach me things about humans and you've always been there for me. My brothers have heard so much about you that your name is a regular topic in our house." He admitted. He had mentioned his brothers before, all 6 of them. You always laughed at the funny stories that Namjoon would tell you about the energetic Jungkook or the grumpy Yoongi. Confining in you whenever he had a fight with his older brothers, mostly Seokjin, and you sat there as he complained about his younger brother's shenanigans.

"Your sure they're fine with you hanging around with a human?" You questioned jokingly. Namjoon threw his head back and groaned, knowing the question all too well. You used to ask seriously, honestly worried about him, but after the eighth time, it just became a joke to annoy the merman. "I'm not answering that." He grumbled. You couldn't hold back your laugher and Namjoon begrudgingly joined you, laughing along.

You couldn't help but admire Namjoon. His pretty eyes, cute dimples, plump lips, everything about him screamed perfection. His muscular arms and toned body always seemed to make your legs weak, his smile made your heart thud, and his personality mirrored a charming prince. You always admired him, and it scared you.

"Y/N, you're staring~" Namjoon's sultry voice caught you off guard, you quickly looked away, hiding your red face in embarrassment. "You're adorable!" He mused as he poked your cheeks, causing you to whine and swat his hands away, "Stoopp," You complained. He chuckled and pulled you close, stroking your hair, making you look up at him.

The look in his eye was comforting, homely. It made your heart soft, wanting to melt into the warmth of his tan chest, to fall asleep to the melody of his breathing. You missed feeling warm. You missed hugs. You were touch starved and this god of a merman was giving you what you needed. Even if the two of you said nothing, the only noise filling your ears that of the ocean's wave, it wasn’t awkward. It was never awkward with Namjoon.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked.

Until now.

"W-what?"

"Can I kiss you? Do humans not kiss?" He tilted his head like a lost puppy.

"Y-yes humans kiss, but why do you want to kiss me?" You blushed.

"I like you. I really like you." He admitted.

"Don't play jokes, Joon..."

"But it's not a joke, I really do! I love your hair, your voice, your eyes, the way you scrunch your nose at the mention of sea kelp ramen." You scrunched your nose, and he giggled, "Yeah, like that, so, can I seal my confession with a kiss?" He asked, a silent plead hiding in his eyes.

Your brain was frying, thrown for a loop. Yes, you found Namjoon majorly attractive, not just in looks, but in personality. How he could go on and on about the botanical world of the ocean. How sometimes he was clumsy with the huge blue appendage that he’s dealt with for years, yet still fumbling over it from time to time. How he spoke so lovingly of his brothers.

However, you were a human; he was a merman. You had two legs; he had a tail. How was it supposed to work? How could you give him everything he needs? You couldn’t hold him at night, you couldn’t go on dates, you couldn’t even see each other unless it was here.

But you were selfish. You were selfish and wanted to be with him, despite all the reasons why you shouldn’t. Why you should back up and tell Namjoon that it could never work, that you couldn’t be the one for him. But you were selfish, and you nodded your head, pushing down the bubbling guilt you felt in your chest when you saw him smile. It was blinding.

He leaned in and you felt his plump lips meet yours, fitting together like a puzzle piece. It was soft at first, gentle as if your lips were glass, easily broken. He wrapped his other arm around your waist, pulling you closer to him as you wrapped your arms around his neck. He tilted his head to kiss you deeper, pressing his warm lips against yours eagerly, desperately wanting to imprint the shape of your lips in his mind, remember the curve of your cupids bow and the warmth that made his heart beat faster.

If you were standing, your sure your knees would’ve wobbled with the way his soft touch sent your heart soaring. You couldn’t focus on anything but him, the merman in front of you. His slightly calloused fingers rubbing circles on the small of your back, his tail wrapping its way around your legs, his wet hair dripping salt water down your face.

His arms flexed as he gripped your waist tighter, waiting to keep you there, flush against his body forever. Nothing but the two of you and the ocean, lovingly caressing you with its calm waves. The thoughts of the long-term nothing but ghostly whispers, lingering in the back of your mind. You wanted to stay here forever, in his muscular arms, wrapped up in his beautiful tail.

Unfortunately, you had to breathe, so you pulled away, huffing to make up for the lost oxygen. You looked up at Namjoon, eyes half lidded. "Wow," Namjoon sighed, "I want to kiss you forever," You giggled and buried your head in his chest. "Can we... be a thing?" He asked, hesitance laced in his voice. It was a question you secretly dreaded, because you knew you couldn’t refuse him."As long as your brothers are fine with you dating a human." You teased. Attempting to swallow your guilt.

"Y/N I swear to god."

Today was a rough day, and that’s putting it lightly. You woke up feeling amazing, the memories of your fun with Namjoon still fresh, even if it was yesterday. However, when you stepped into work, things turned sour.

You never had a terrible relationship with your co-workers per se... But you weren’t a people person either. You found it hard to have a conversation with someone who you just didn’t click with, unlike Namjoon. Though, you weren’t expecting this.

It was no secret the company you were working for was going under. They just never seemed to make the right decisions, always favoring money over their actual job. Protecting and researching sea life. It ended up being there downfall after a lawsuit ended up on their way too shiny desks. You don’t know exactly what happened, but pieces of information made its way through the grapevine.

Apparently, they made another greedy decision. The local sea otter population was dwindling slowly. Sadly, you’d see less and less of the little guys. It was the company's job to humanely capture and help the otters, eventually releasing them when scientists, like you, found out why they were dying. Humanely was the key word. A key word they didn’t pay attention to when a cheaper, crueler way of capturing the otters arose.

You already felt shitty. If only you’d known, you could’ve done something about it sooner. However, you were at the bottom of the food chain. Your job was to utilize those years of college to research these animals. Everyone knew you were always extra caring towards these creatures. How could you not be? They had no idea what was happening, you at least wanted to ease their anxiety in the form of positive reenforcement.

Little bits of fish here and there, pets for the animals that you could touch, giving the water bound creature the extra large tanks. It was the least you could do. You always wanted the animals to feel okay, because they shouldn’t be away from home in the first place. But your ways of comfort caused time, and money.

Which was the perfect reason for your boss to lay you off. Of course it was a coverup, they needed to let employees go, to keep their money, you understood that. But they couldn't do it without a sound reason, So, when you found out all of your co-workers threw you under the bus to save their own asses from getting fired, it infuriated you.

How could they? What did you do to them? Nothing. It was a dog eats dog world here, and you knew it from the beginning. It was obvious most of the people here were in it for the hearty amount of money being a marine biologist could get them, not for the animals.

You didn’t know what to do, the closest place that would hire you was 30 miles away, meaning you’d have to move. You’d have to leave without Namjoon, and that broke your heart. The thought of not seeing his dorky face every day after work tore your heart apart. This is what you get for being selfish. The universe was turning on you, making you feel the pain of heartbreak and the hopelessness of your world crumbling before you.

Soon, you find yourself sitting on the rock that is full of memories. Some good, some bad. Like the time the two of you had your first argument, idiotically about who knows more on sea life. Or the memory where Namjoon gifted you a seashell necklace that you still wear till this day, you never take it off. The sudden sound of splashing water tore you out of your thoughts.

“Darling!” Namjoon’s warm voice flowed through the air, blessing your ears with some sort of comfort. He smiled at you, his cute dimples showing, giving you the urge to poke them. However, his smile faltered when he saw the tear stains tainting your cheeks.

“Seashell, what’s wrong?” He called, heaving himself up on the rock. Seashell, the nickname made you smile. You never thought it could be a pet name, but Namjoon seemed to make it work, insisting he’d use it since they were your favorite thing to collect and the ones he gave you sat proudly on a designated shelf.

“It’s been... A bad day.” Your voice came out rough and shaky. Namjoon reached out to you, pulling you into his arms. He was wet, and the water saturated through your nice work clothes, but you didn’t care. You wanted to be selfish again and have Namjoon hold you before you told him the news. News that would not only shatter you, but Namjoon too.

Tears flowed out of your eyes as sobs wracked through your body. You wrapped your arms around Namjoon’s semi-scaly waist and held him closer, desperately wanting to burn the feeling of his warmth into your mind. Namjoon let you cry before trying to calm down your frantic breaths. “Hey... Y/n. Breath darling. Calm down.” Namjoon whispered to you, resting his forehead against yours.

“Breathe with me.” He ran you through a basic breathing exercise. In through your nose, out through your mouth. After you calmed down, you felt the pressure building up behind your eyes and you dreaded the headache that was to come tomorrow.

“There you go.” Namjoon smiled, pulling you into a chaste kiss. “Now, talk to me, seashell.” You weakly smiled, gathering the remnants of your courage that laid in pieces around you. “I...” You took a deep breath, “I got fired today...” You choked out, almost breaking down again. Namjoon cupped your face and rubbed his thumb over your cheekbone. “Oh, darling...” He pulled you closer to him once again, holding you tight. “But... That’s not all...” You murmured into his chest.

Namjoon pulled you away, giving you a look that said ‘Carry on.’ “T-The closest place that can hire me is 30 miles away...” The tears started coming back. “And... And that means I would have t-to leave but... Joonie, I don’t want to leave...” You choked down a sob and buried your face back into Namjoon's chest. He said nothing as he held you closer, silently comforting you the best he can.

You can tell by his slumped body language that he was feeling hurt, lost, heart broken. Your selfish actions have led to somebody’s despair and it made you sob harder. Guilt wracked its way through your body, and you collapsed in his hold. “Come with me...” Namjoon whispered, petting your hair.

You shot your head up, looking Namjoon right in the eye. “W-What? I can’t Joonie. I’m not like you...” He held your hands and started scooting towards the edge of the rock. “Yoongi hyung! He can help!” He exclaimed with a newfound hope. “How?” You chuckled somberly at the excitement in Namjoon’s eyes. “He’s what we call a sea witch. Remember when we talked about them one day?” You nodded, remembering how you glowed like a child when you found out about Merfolk magic. “Yoongi hyung might know a spell... To help us.” He lowered himself into the water, placing his hands on your knees.

“What are you saying Joon?” You pressed. “I-I don’t want to lose you... So... I want to be selfish and take you with me.” He sighed, eyes a mix of intangible emotions. You froze, Namjoon? Selfish? Never. He was the most selfless person you’ve met. Always willing to help you, hold you, gift you things, make time for you. If you’d ask him to pull a scale and give it to you, he’d do it in a heartbeat to make you happy.

You were the selfish one, knowing that one day you’d have to part ways. Falling in love with someone who felt like the home you lost long ago. You were the selfish one for giving in, for desperately wanting happiness, even if you knew it would hurt everyone in the end, Life throws wrenches in your road all the time, but you still let him fall in love with you. You let him kiss you, hug you, hold you, all for your selfish desire to be loved. “Your not selfish, Joon...” You sighed, and he gave you a soft smile.

“Yoongi knows this transformation spell. He showed it to me a month ago... I thought maybe it could help us... Be together.” Namjoon was desperately dancing around the subject, but the hints he gave you were enough. “He can turn me into a mermaid?” You gasped, Namjoon nodded, taking both of your hands in his, kissing each one.

“I-If you want to...” He stuttered, nervous. If you wanted to... Did you want to? What did you have to lose? You don’t have a job, or friends... What about family? You're a single child to deceased parents, the only connection you had with your family was the New Year's postcards you got from your second cousin who seemed adamant about keeping it peachy with everyone who has your family's blood.

So what did you truly have to lose? If you went off the grid, who would look for you? Would they care enough to look for you? Your cousins are all married with their own lives, and your aunts and uncles only seemed to acknowledge you when they disagreed on your political opinions. The only person who ever made you feel loved in a way you lost when your parents passed was the merman, who looked on the brink of tears, floating in front of you.

If you went with him, you had nothing to lose, so why refuse?

“Go get the grumpy old man. I’ll be here.”

“Really? You’ll come with me?” Namjoon gasped.

“Yes.” You smiled.

“I love you so much, Seashell.”

“I love you too, Joonie.”

#bts #bts fic #bts fluff #bts angst #bts merman au #kim namjoon #namjoon #bts namjoon #namjoon x reader #oneshot #s2l #strangers to lovers #bts imagines #bts one shot #im not good at tags #namjoon fic #namjoon fanfic #bts fanfic

129 notes · View notes

arcticdementor · 3 years

Link

Other possible Holocausts: why pro-lifers are lying to us, and why thats a good thing

…

Ive had a running argument over the past few years that the raw lack of anti-abortion terrorist action proves no one really thinks abortion is murder, ie. intentional 1st degree murder of a life equal to yours or mine.

Ive always gotten pushback to quote WillyWang:

The "revealed preference" of those that oppose abortion but don't firebomb clinics and kill doctors? It won't help, you'll be made an example of in the negative sense, and civilized norms are more important than a useless symbolic point. One clinic destroyed won't end abortion, after all.

From which this Effort-post got its Genesis:

Would you say the same about those who participated in the french resistance or Warsaw Ghetto rising to Nazi Germany?

Everyone of those claims applies there: they were likely to be made examples of, they were damaging civilized norms, and any given action had relatively little to no impact.

Yet the same people who insist abortion is murder, and thus that America is committing a holocaust, yet denounce any of the people who employed violence against abortion doctors or clinics, and can’t distance themselves fast enough from any call for violence... none of those people apply the same logic to the first holocaust. None of them say the frenchmen who bombed german police stations where dangerous terrorists who deserved their executions, none of them denounce the Warsaw ghetto rising as an attack on civilization.

…

If anti-abortion advocated genuinely believed a fetus was a equivalent human life to yours or mine or the little kids they see walk to school, and that this was an ongoing holocaust of American Children at a scale possibly 10x or more what was done to the jews... they wouldn’t need to come up with ad hoc reasons why they don’t resort to violence, their mind would be screaming at them to take bloody vengeance 24/7 in righteous outrage, demanding that oceans of blood and fire be unleashed that it might wash clean the horror, that nuclear fire would be be an acceptable emergency shut off to end such wanton and cruel slaughter... and if thinking through all the logic they concluded that no violence wouldn’t help and they must pursue some peaceful negotiation to stop the slaughter, then their minds recoil and call themselves cowards and the moment of coming to that conclusion would be an ongoing trauma they’d carry with them for the rest of their life, even if they knew they were 100% right. They would meet the “pro-choice” and barely be able to conceal their desire to see them dead or imprisoned... they would meet women who had had abortions and scream bloody murder at them and tell them they deserve the death penalty, the way many of the same people react when presented with women who’d murdered their children, but after their children had left the womb.

The people who were jailed for assassinating abortionists, or fire-bombing clinics would be folk heroes lionized in songs and crowd funded hagiographic documentaries and folk traditions, like John Brown, or John Wilkes Booth, or Louis Reil, or Saco and Vancety, or Huey Newton, or Malcolm X, or David Koresh, or Levoy Finecolm... or hell even just Jesse James, or Killdozer.

Americans abort on average 1 million plus babies a year... that means if abortion is murder and those are human lives, then the 50 years since Roe vs.Wade has been a worse crime than the holocaust, slavery, or the crimes of Stalin, and we’d have to consult a historian to see if they were worse than Mao (on a per capita basis, certainly)...

This would be the worse crime ever commited, the greatest mass slaughter ever perpetrated in human history, and 50 years later our society would remain committed to repeating it in the next 50 years.

If that does not demand violence, then nothing in human history ever has, no even defensive war has ever been justified, and only Jainists and Jehovah’s witnesses are morally acceptable actors. An extreme unexceedable pascifism we know the vast majority of anti-abortion advocates do not endorse, since they overwhelming supported or at-least did not conspicuously oppose the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (over a mere 3000 Americans dead, and a less than a years abortions worth of Iraqis killed by Saddam) and continue to conspicuously “Support our troops” troops that exist to carry out violence, despite their moral commitments saying they can apparently never in human history be justified.

When i say this proves “Pro-lifers” clearly do not believe a fetus is an equal human life, thats me being incredibly charitable. That is me extending a overwhelming large olive branch, that is me expressing a stupendous care and concern and sympathy and brotherly love to rival the best 19th century dinner host, the dearest of friends, a benevolent older sibling, a lover, a parent, a mother who on hearing the taped confession of her son to serial murder, doesn’t hesitate once before screaming “you monsters you’ve drugged and tortured him! What threats have you made to my grandchild! He would only say such things to save his daughter’s life!”

My claiming they are full of shit and lying to themselves, to you, and to me, is an expression of love and faith in my fellow man which until now I did not realized I possessed nor was capable of...

Because if I merely took them at their word? If I believed that they believed what they say they believe? They would be monsters.

Lets play a game called “Other Possible Holocausts”. Approximately 800,000 babies where aborted this year.

Lets imagine the US government has just announced that crime has gotten to cumbersome and that over the next 3 years it plans to execute every single one of the 2.4 million people in US prisons jails and Jeuvenile detention centres.

Lets imagine that to reform education, the US resolves to kill the bottom 1% of all 80 million students in the country based on an age adjusted standardized test every year.

Lets imagine hatred of the obese takes off, and a policy is passed to resolve America’s 30% obesity rate by the mass instituting of bounties on hunting and killing the obese... that every year 800,000 to 1.5 million tags will be issued for a fee to allow the hunting of the obese in return for monetary rewards on successful hunts and getting to keep the carcasses for meat base animal foods and the manufacture of fuel, or fat based household products. These bounty hunters become known a “whalers”.

Lets imagine the US announces its done with African Americans... if the problem hasn’t been solved since 1619, its not going to be... and so they’re going to genocide all 40 million African Americans at a rate of 2% a year, for the next 50 years.

Lets imagine opposing extremists get in charge and decide the racists rednecks have to go, and so they’ll be forming death squads to roam the South, Appalachia, and the rust belt, with the objective of killing 800,000 poor whites a year, “until the problem is solved”... with many happily stating 50 years of this would be acceptable, while others state it’d be perfectly fine to renew it another 50 years after that.

…

These are all American lives, and according to pro-lifers of equal moral value to the babies aborted every day, no better, no worse.

By saying this and by saying violence is not and cannot be justified to resist it, they are saying that their reactions to any one of the above eventualities would be to continue to live their lives as they have lived the past 50 years.

I do not know how to respond to that. Even if Abortion is truly murder of an ensouled equal human life... The Pro-choicers committing the murders don’t think it is... hell the Nazis murdered 6 million jews and a further 5 million undesirables, but they didn’t think of them as human, they thought they were monstrous and “life unworthy of life”, like a burning man begging you to shoot him so he doesn’t suffer or hurt his fellows... a mercy in a way.

Pro-lifers on the other hand claim these are equal viable human lives of equal status to yours or mine or perhaps even greater.... They’re Children.

And their reaction to the greatest mass slaughter in human history, the reaction of almost half the electorate, who regularly talk about the need to resist tyrrany and defend the weak (as both left and right in the US do, in their way), their reaction is to vote every 4 years, and have it perhaps not even be the #1 issue if the economy seems bad, they have the opportunity to vote for the first black president, or the Orangeman says something crude about Mexicans... they won’t be single issue voters even when it comes to the greatest crime ever committed in human history?

I refuse to believe it. Even I, cynical as I am, have to believe we are not that far gone, and the age of men has not come crashing down... i would believe the US capable of such a crime, but to believe that a double digit percentage of Americans could look at that, recognize the victims as their fellow humans,recognize their state and society as committing mass murder of their neighbours, future friends, and relatives...to recognize that they have a moral imperative to act on this... and then just go “welp them’s the breaks, gotta be civilized” because 9 people in black robes said it wasn’t murder?

Holy fuck. No that is not how people work, that is not how humans behave, I cannot accept that, and leftists who spent the summer rioting in response to fewer than a thousand police killings of black men a year, who remember the civil rights and anti-war movements, who kinda vaguely recall that they’re supposed to remember Huey Newton, or Saco and Vanseti, or those Rossen...something people... who like to imagine they’d have been abolitionists in the 19th century. They’re right to call bullshit.

They’re right to call the pro-lifers liars who don’t believe their own messaging, and instead just want to control women’s bodies, after a lie like that to their face, they’re right to treat them with scorn.

…

Pro-life is rescuable as a sentiment and an activist movement...

But not while it claims a Holocaust is going on and somehow magically no violence could ever be justified to resist it, thus lining up all the arguments that will allow the next holocaust to be committed without resistance.

There have been a double digit, perhaps even a triple digit number of mass murders and genocides in the hundreds of thousands or millions of people, since the 20th century. America is enabling its ally Saudi Arabia to commit one against the Yemenis right fucking now.

We need to be very fucking clear about what it is justified to do to members of a regime that commits such a crime, and what it is definitely justified to do to the immediate perpetrators of the murder. And That we will back violent resistance to such a horrible crime by the state even if it serves only to make the resister a martyr we’ll praise, or it degrades “civilization” (what civilization could remain in such a regime?), or it ultimately has no effect (it is on the survivor to try harder)... The major members of the House of Saud deserve the Gallows under international law for what they’re doing in Yemen , as do their American attaches and core enablers... and if that comes from a Judge in the Hauge or from a convoy of irregulars in pickup trucks, or from lone assassins who manage to get through to them, It is justice, and i will praise it.

What we cannot do is pretend that genocides and mass slaughter on unconscionable scales are occurring and then come up with excuses for why we should do nothing and anyone who does resist is a criminal. Or else those excuses will be the ones that allow the next real genocide in the west or on US soil to actually happen.

If there is a genocide or democide or whatever you want to call mass slaughter. You must recognize the justice the violent resistance to it, even if you personally do not participate, or you must admit you were lying about there being such a crime... to say otherwise, to say a state can commit such a crime and still retain its right to your loyalty, to say a people up to and including its victims must obey such a thing, a creature made of bureaucracy that has set its sights on massacring humans by the thousands if not millions... it is to side against the human race in a war of extermination.

And as someone whose pro-choice as they come, I’d much rather, if the pro-lifers really believe its murder, I’d much rather they start a bloody civil war, than for it to become the norm that that is ethically acceptable.

#kulakrevolt #reddit #the motte #food for thought

3 notes · View notes

homogrimoire-archive · 3 years

Text

The Remnant Branches

CH. 3 - Would You Like To Hear A Song? Or Perhaps See A Pretty Flower?

Parts 1 - 6

Glynda arrives in a mysterious forest, and makes acquaintance with a beautiful program. There, in a dream, her adventure begins. After her dream, she awakes in another world once more. There, she becomes acquainted with a young woman and her sisters. And eventually, she returns to Ozpin with Qrow already there, and James arriving back soon after.

AO3 Link

Glynda wakes up on cool grass, surrounded by fog. Checking her countdown, she sees that she was only out for an hour.

“Hmph. A wasted hour.” she retorts, as if he wants the hour to feel bad for being useless. But, she doesn’t dwell on it any further.

She gets up, and dusts herself off. She notices that its not fog, but steam. Alarm bells go off in her head, but she doesn’t panic. Panicking could very easily lead to death. At least the magic Ozpin used renders death in the unknown world as a trip back to Remnant. Looking around, she sees that trees and shrubs also surround her. She takes that as a good sign, but is curious as to why there is a lot of steam in a forest, and begins to walk in a direction.

As she walks, she trips over something. At first, she assumes its a root, and curses the fog and the root, but then sees that it is a pipe. From it, steam is periodically released.She sees that it extends further into the steam, and follows it. As she walks around, she notices that the forest is rather quiet, despite the amount of pipes there must be, and that she has yet to see or hear any animals.

The deeper she goes, the more humid and warm it gets, so she assumes she’s going in the right direction. However, she regrets not changing her attire more and more. Oz advised lighter clothing, but she was adamant that she would be fine. She doesn’t blame herself much though. Most don’t prepare for a forest filled with steam.

Soon, she sees more and more pipes. They all vary in size, and converge somewhere. And sooner, she sees where they converge. They all lead to a single, incredibly large tree. Although, it was a lot less organic than most trees. It reminded her of James, in a sense. It was half organic, and half inorganic, but the tree’s machinery and wood did not part cleanly down the middle. It was all entangled and intertwined. In some places, it seemed as if the metal completely integrated into the tree. Or was it that the tree seamlessly integrated into the metal? She couldn’t tell.

Regardless, she made her way to the base of the tree to inspect it further. With each step, her body grew sleepier and sleepier, despite the protest of her mind.

“I knew… I should have…” she yawned, “stole their coffee...”

Just as she touched the base of the tree, she fell into a nearby bush as she fell into the deep slumber of Sleeping Beauty.

The strange woman had finally awoken, stretching as she rose up to stand.

“What the fuck???” Glnda exclaimed, rather confused. “These are all words and sounds, and I didn’t stand up and stretch because there’s only words and sounds here!”

She continued on with her insane rambling, spouting nonsense left and right.

“I didn’t say anything more, for your information. Now, could you please explain to me what is going on? I am a very busy woman and I don’t have time for your games.”

…

“Well? Are you going to answer or not?”

…

“Ugh. Fine then. I’ll figure it out myself.”

Upon hearing the commotion outside, she stepped out of her castle and onto its front steps. Before her laid a beautiful land of plenty. Verdant plants and flowers of every color were before her. Just beyond the porch lay a yellow brick road. Seeing the beauty of her land brought a smile to her face.

“I did none of that, but the description is helpful, I suppose?”

“There she is!” shouted a voice. “Its Glinda the Good Witch of the South!”

“It’s spelled G-L-Y-N-D-A, Glynda, and I’m not a witch of the south or anything. Please cease all this nonsense. It’s starting to give me a headache.”

“My, if it isn’t Dorothy, slayer of that Wicked Witch of the West.” said the good witch as she gracefully glided down the many beautiful steps.

“Wait. I recognize that voice… Theodore? Is that you? What are you doing here?”

“My, if it isn’t Theodore, slayer of that Wicked Witch of the West.” said the good witch as she gracefully glided down the many beautiful steps.

“I guess I’m just going to have to live with this, aren’t I?.”

“How may I help you, young Theodore?” asked Glynda.

“Please, I need you to help me have to find my way home!” the young man pleaded.

“Hmph. He isn’t exactly young, you know.”

“Please, I need you to help me have to find my way home!” the YOUNG man pleaded.

“You know what… You’re just lucky he’d like to be called young.”

“But I want to help my friends first before I leave.” the dashing man explained.

“I’m the Cowardly Lion.” said the furry beast.

“Leonardo? What the hell is happening here?”

“And I want to be brave! I have to be brave, but I am not, so I need magic to make me brave!” the kingly animal said just as a cute, little mouse in blue work pants scurried at his feet. “EEK!” the lion shrieked as he jumped into the air and into the arms of the one next to him. “See! I am a Lion! I shouldn’t be afraid of a mouse. You have to help me!”

“I’m the Tinman of the Forest,” began the tin man as he gently placed the cowardly beast down. “And I need to have a heart.”

“General Ironwood?”

“To be exact, I need to have a heart of my own so I can love. I want to love, but I can’t without a heart. There was once a doctor with beautiful green eyes that visited my woods frequently to help an adjacent neighbor of mine, and we became good friends, and then we started dating. But, I can’t love, so things didn’t work out. I need a heart so I can feel love, and give it too. I saw a very beautiful flower the other day. It was a shining white and had five luscious petals. I would like to begin by loving that. Starting simple, you know?” the iron man shyly explained

“Well that’s sad.”

“Oh you poor thing.” said the good witch with an incredibly sad look on her face.

“Mmm, not that sad.”

“Oh you poor thing.” said the good witch with a sorrowful look on her face.

“Better. What’s the next person’s story?”

“And you, Mr. Scarecrow, what is it you need?”

“I need a brain, you see.” the Scarecrow told her.

“Yup. Qrow really could use one of those on occasion.”

“I want to be smart! Just the other day, a farmer boy came to me and asked for help with baking. He said it was so a girl in a red hood could give it to her grandma, but I’m not smart enough to read, so I messed up the measuring amounts and the steps. The peach pie still came out alright, but I want to be smart so I can be helpful! You’ve got to help me Glynda!” The Scareqrow said as he begged on his knees.

“Well those are words I’d never thought I’d hear in his voice. Ha. First time for everything I guess.”

“Oh you,” the witch of the west chuckled, “and you, and you, and you!” she said, pointing at each of them with her magical wand. “I may not be able to help you, but there is someone who can. You all must go to the Emerald City. There you will find Prince Ozma. He has such powerful magic, and with it, he will be able to help you. However, beware of the Wicked Witch of the West, Shalem.” The beautiful and good witch explained.

“Why thank you. I appreciate the compliment. … You know, you’re not so bad.”

“Shalem keeps her eyes on the city in hopes to destroy it and Ozma. I hear they have quite the past with each other. But, I am not one to gossip.” The gentle, serene, and most beautiful of the ensemble said as she floated back to the top of the stairs.

“Hmm, Oz and Salem… Oh, thank you, I appreciate it, I do, but you don’t need to go overboard with it for me. Besides, it makes the sentence too wordy.”

“Salem keeps her eyes on the city in hopes to destroy it and Oz. I hear they have quite the past with each other. But, I am not one to gossip.” The serene and gentle good witch said as she floated back to the top of the stairs.

“See? Better.”

“Now, all four of you have to do is follow the yellow brick road there. It will take you to The Emerald City and Oz. And remember, beware of Salem and her monsters. I wish all of you the best of luck.”

“Thank you Glynda!” the group said in unison. In the distance she could hear them singing gleefully about following the yellow brick road. She almost felt compelled to join them at their request.

…

No, she did not feel that. She didn’t want to follow them in the slightest. She had her little moment of repose, and wanted to get back to business. To do that, she needed to answer some questions first.

“Thank you. I’m glad things are moving along.”

She waited for the questions in anticipation, fearing that she would answer wrong and have to start the text all over again.

“Huh? Could you repeat that?”

1) What was the mouse wearing?

A. a pair of Blue Pants

B. a Plaid Bowtie

C. a Flower

D. A and B

E. None of the Above

“A, a pair of Blue Pants. You should know, I am a teacher. I make tests like these on a much, much, much more difficult scale than this.”

Correct.

2) What was the color of the doctor’s eyes?

A. Brown

B. Green

C. Red

D. White

E. Pink

“B, green. Huh, was that supposed to be Watts? How did you know that?”

Correct.

3) Who did the farm boy and the Scareqrow try to make a pie for?

A. a Magical Songstress

B. a Grandma

C. a Sister

D. a White Flower

E. a Girl With a Red Hood

“Ok, it’s between the grandma and the girl in red. It was made for the girl so she could give it to her grandma. Hmm, who did they make the pie for… E! Damn trick question...”

…

“Don’t … me! It’s making me nervous! And I’ll be very annoyed and angry if I have to go through that again.”

…

“Ha ha ha. Very funny.”

Correct.

“Oh thank goodness.” she said as she let out a sigh of relief. “That, is true.” she confirms with a smile.

My favorite memory: the memory of the beginning of the end. A giant of grotesque white emerges from the sky, fighting a red dragon. A chaotic song ushers in a new world, a new world that is born on the brink of death. But, it is also a world with magic. It is born from the defeat of the giant, and the death of the dragon. The red dragon falls, and is skewered onto Tokyo Tower, June 12th, 2003.

The magic born from it is called Maso, the demonic element. I will show you the power born from it. Amazing isn’t it? Not only humans wield its incredible power, but machines, and androids too. It is a shame this could not be in a better world.

The magic of the giant rains. It rains a massless white. It is a snow in summer. It is salt though, not snow. That accursed magic is a virus. Those that are infected either turn into that same weightless salt, or become a beast akin to the giant. It is a shame this came into existence at all.

Research into other worlds has shown that the beast’s magic initiates a connection to god. The god offers a pact to the unfortunate human. If they agree, they become a beast. Let me show you. … Terrifying aren't they? If they refuse… well, you just saw what happened.

There is more to this story, and you will find some of it in a distant past, in another dimension. With it, you will find what you seek.

I, Sleeping Beauty, aim to keep knowledge of the past alive, among other things. I grant you this knowledge and more. With you, the past of this world will have a greater chance of living on now. And, as a true human, I serve you, and grant you your desire to the best of my ability.

“Thank you Glynda. Stay safe.” Sleeping Beauty solemnly told her friend.

“You’re welcome. And thank you too. Tell me, isn’t there anything I can do for you?” Glynda said, sad for a reason she could not fully discern. Perhaps it was because someone finally showed some thanks to her. She laughs lightly.

“No. You’ve done more than enough. ” The program replied.

“Goodbye Sleeping Beauty. Sweet dreams.” A calm yet sad smile is on her face as she fades from her dream.

I think this dream might be my new favorite memory. Hmmm. At the very least, it’s my new favorite dream.

When Glynda awakes, she finds herself in a well furnished but simple room. She realizes that she is no longer with Sleeping Beauty. She looks around, and finds no one there. However, there is a small letter on a nearby nightstand. She picks it up and reads it,

To whom it concerns,

If you're reading this, you’re awake, I am sure you have many questions. As do I. Just wander until you find a servant. They will direct you to me. Once you find me, I will explain myself to you, and you can explain yourself to me. I am sure we will reach an understanding.

Lady One

“Lady One...” Glynda murmured to herself. She didn’t know if she could trust this Lady One person, but she didn’t have much of a choice. She could just ditch the place. It seems like it would be easy since the Lady just told her to wander. But, Glynda wanted answers. Worst comes to worst, she ends up back in Remnant with an already decent repertoire of info on the magic. So, she heads out the door.

A lavish, ornate hall is what she sees, much different from the room. She considers that this might not even be the world she was first sent to. This palace is a place that simply could not exist in the world of eternal night and day. She passes a portrait of a young girl. She wears white clothing with black accents. She has light blond hair, red eyes, and pale skin. Glynda assumes it’s the daughter of Lady One, or a painting of her younger self.

After finding a painting of a purple dragon, the paintings of four other women, and a detailed painting of a well decorated city, Glynda finally runs into a servant.

“Oh, excuse me!” she cried out, grabbing the servant’s attention. He silently ushers her to follow him, so she does.

However, she still maintains her wariness with The Disciplinarian at her side, just in case. She is led through a maze of halls, each just as beautiful as the last, but each providing information no more useful than the last. Eventually, they come upon a set of doors, which the servant opens for her to enter. Once past the doors, the servant quietly shuts them behind her.

In front of her is a large table. If it weren’t so fancy, it could be in a school cafeteria. Sitting on the left end is a girl, the same one from the painting. She sits, eating a small plate of food. It’s mostly full, so she either just started eating, or was a very slow eater. She turns her head to acknowledge Glynda.

“Please, have a seat.” she says, motioning to a chair not too far from her. In front of it is another plate of food.

“Yes, of course.” she states, and walks to the seat. The girl doesn’t say anything as she takes a seat. She just continues eating. “So, are you Lady One?” Glynda asks to break the silence.

“Yes. I am, but just call me One. You’re not a subject of mine after all.” She takes another bite of her food and swallows. “Who are you? If you don't mind telling me.”

“I don’t mind at all. My name is Glynda. Glynda Goodwitch.”

“Glynda, what brings a woman like you here?”

“I was sent on a mission to learn about magic.”

“And who could have sent you to do that?”

“My boss. A man named Ozpin. But if I remember correctly, you said in your letter that you would explain yourself to me.” Glynda said, whipping out the letter. One grabbed it, and reread it.

“Well. I did. In that case, you are in Midgard, in The Cathedral City. And I am Lady One, an Intoner. I found you on the floor asleep as I rounded a corner. I sensed the magic of a dragon around you. Which brings me to this: who are you. I know you aren’t from this world.”

“Well, how I got here is a bit convoluted, and I don't really understand it all. But, I will try my best to explain myself.” And Glynda did her best to explain herself, from Oz and his mysterious magic and even more mysterious knowledge, to Sleeping Beauty and her manufactured dreams, and the gist of the unsettling knowledge granted to her.

“I see. Well, while you are here, you are free to visit my libraries. You should be able to find plenty of information concerning magic there.”

“Really, you’d let me do that?” Glynda asked in awe. She was amazed a stranger would just let her have access to that.

“Yes. If there’s magic in your world, The Flower could be a threat there. This way, if it does show up there, your world will not be defenseless.” She said, taking a sip of tea when she finished her sentence.

“The Flower?”

“Hmm. I suppose I should give you the basics.” One summed up her story from the beginning, from Zero, The Inoners, Gabriella, and her research into magic and The Flower, only omitting her brother.

“That is… a lot, to say the least.”

“Perhaps, but I manage it well. But please, tell me more about your world. I sensed a different kind of magic on you, one I’ve yet to come across. Is it from Ozpin?”

“Most likely. He used magic to grant me the ability of telekinesis.” she said, lifting a teacup with a movement of a finger. “It’s also the same ability as my semblance, but I only really tend to use the magic when my aura has run out.”

“What is a semblance, and aura for that matter?” One asked quizzically.

“I’m guessing that’s not a thing here. Well, aura” she said, manifesting it for One to see, “is a manifestation of one’s soul. Its used as a layer of protection from things such as attacks and extreme heat. It’s also best to think of aura as a resource, as it can run out if it’s used too much. Semblances are a power that is typically unique to a person, and are intrinsically linked to aura, and possibly a person’s personality. Without aura, a semblance cannot develop. It is also best to think of them as a muscle. The more you use them, the stronger they become. However, aura is not magic, and neither is a semblance.”

“Can anyone have an aura and a semblance?”

“So long as it has a soul, yes. Aura can be developed over time, or unlocked with the help of someone who already has aura. A semblance, however, is more finicky. Sometimes, even those who had honed their aura well will not manifest a semblance.”

“Interesting… Shall we see if an Intoner can have an aura?” One questioned, eager to see if it was indeed possible.

“You have a soul, so I don’t see why not.”

“Our universes could be ruled by different laws.” One suggested.

“That is a possibility… But there’s no harm in trying. May I see your hand please?” Glynda requested as she held out her own hand. One obliged, and placed her hand in Glynda’s. Glynda closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and focused. She brought her aura up, and began to transfer it into One in an attempt to kickstart her own aura. Her efforts were successful. Purple aura began to turn red once it entered One.

“And that’s,” she huffed, “that. Congrats. You have an aura.”

One marveled at her new ability. This was the magic she sensed. It was weak compared to the magic of The Flower, but knew it could be because it was newly manifested. She focused some of it on her other palm. In it, a red barrier formed, one that felt different from a barrier formed of Song.

“It seems as if you’re a natural. That kind of technique tends to take years of training to master.”

“Is that so?”

“Very much so. If you need help in training your aura, I could help you. I’d say I’m very qualified to do so, as well.”

“I’ll take your offer, but, perhaps tomorrow. It’s getting late.”

“Yes, that would be a good idea. But do you mind if I take a visit to the library? I’ve had a lot of sleep recently, so I’ll probably be up for a while.”

“Of course.” she said. With the snap of her fingers, a servant quickly appeared. “Please escort her to the library.” she ordered him, “When you’re ready to retire, just get one of the servants or guards. They’ll escort you to your room. If you need anything of them really, just ask, and they’ll see to it.”

“Yes. Thank you One. Feel free to summon me if you need me as well.” She said. With One’s hum of approval, she went off to the library. She was glad her mission was going good, It wasn’t as planned, but still good, very good at that.

The library itself was large, as expected. She wasn’t sure where to begin, and asked the servant if he had any advice. He pointed her to a dusty book in the center of a table. It was an index of topics. Topics such as food, carpentry, and sealife. It also listed where each topic could be found in the library. Magic could be found on isle 547, so that’s where she went. She found the servants a bit odd, but did not bother to dwell on it.

On a small table by the aisle was another dusty book. It listed the subtopics and what shelf number to find the desired subtopic. Demonic magic, healing magic, elemental magic, transformation magic, alchemy, and even sexual magic were a few of the topics she saw as she scanned through the thin book. She was sure Oz didn’t plan for this level of magical knowledge. But, she had to begin somewhere, so she began with something she thought might interest Oz: Magiks Related to The Soule, as the book was titled. It was discussed, pacts, transferring souls among vessels, creating a soul, destroying a soul, and shaping souls.

Most of it proved too complex to easily understand. However, she did take pictures of some glyphs and the surrounding text. The only thing that was simple was pacts, which One briefly mentioned earlier. She found the concept interesting, and thought could have some use in Remnant. So, she went to find a book on the basics. There were many specialized beginner-friendly books, but she settled on a book on the generalities of magic.

It stated that magic was a natural ability that could not be learned. A person either had an affinity for it, or didn’t. Even then, people only had an affinity for certain magic, or multiple magics if they were lucky. Beyond that, lots of magic was connected to a writing known as Angelic Script. It was indecipherable, but otherwise well documented. It showed some basic glyphs that she took a picture of with her scroll. Magic also tended to need a conduit. This was a concept she understood well. Weapons could be a conduit for aura, and some semblances worked better with a conduit, much like her own. In passing, it mentioned that some species had innate magic, magic connected to either god, or the gods. No one was entirely sure.

It was all very mysterious, but she began to find herself feeling drowsy, and found a guard to escort her to her room. There, she slept very comfortably, glad she was making progress.

After eating, and after the woman from another world left, One was left to ponder her new ability. She focused the aura onto the tips of her fingers to form claws.

“Is that a new form of magic you learned, sister?” her brother asked.

“In a sense, yes. Its called aura, an embodiment of the soul. Remember that lady you found? She is from another world, another dimension. She said it wasn’t magic, but as far as I’m concerned, it is.” She stood up, and with the slash of an arm, sent a wave of aura that sliced through a training dummy.

“Do you think you could teach me it?” he asked.

“It can be taught, but there is a quicker way. Let me see your hand.” she requested. Just as she saw Glynda do, she held his hand and focused on transferring the aura to unlock it. It was met with success, as a darker red appeared on him.

“Do you feel it brother?” she asked. She understood why the woman seemed a bit drained after preforming the unlock, but it was hardly anything to One. She chalked up the difference to her status as an actual intoner.

“I do.” he said with amazement. He tried to bring forth a small barrier in his palm like he saw his sister do, but failed. It was faint, and flickered on and off.

“Odd. Yours is weaker.” she said, inspecting his palm.

“You said it was an embodiment of the soul right?” he asked. At that moment, she had a theory.

“Yes. I did. That means this aura is not only mine’s, but Gabriel’s as well.” She turned to look at Gabriel, who was peacefully resting.

“That could explain why yours is so strong, right sister?”

“It could, but I don’t know enough about it to know for sure. I will ask the woman tomorrow though. This could help us in our war against Zero.”

“And The Flower.”

“I don’t think this will truly help against The Flower, but we can hope, can’t we?” she said, her expression darkening.

“Sister, what else did she tell you?”

“That people with aura can develop a power unique to them, and something else. She traveled to another world before this one. That world faced something I think is related to The Flower. It was killed by a dragon, but its remains forced a pack with the gods onto people who came into contact with it. If they refused, they turned into a massless salt. If they agreed, they became a slave of the gods.”

“So even in death and defeat, The Flower can still be a threat.” Brother One stated.

“Apparently so. At the very least, we can put more trust in the Dragon-Bone weapons. Now spar with me Brother!” One commanded, putting some distance between her and her brother. “Show me you haven’t been slacking off.”

“Understood!” he shouted back, jumping to his feet, readying his Dragon-Bone Sword. In the background, the morning sun shone brightly.

One made the first move, dashing forward to slash with her chakram. Her brother parried it, countering with a thrust into a slash that One caught in her chakram. With a twist of her weapon, pulled the sword out of his hand, and into hers. She kicked him back, and pointed the sword at him. Seeing that he was defeated, he yielded.

“Well, you lasted a second longer than last time. You are improving. I will give you that.” She said as she helped him up and gave him back his sword.

“Impressive technique, One. In my world, you would no doubt be a legendary huntsman.” praised a voice.

“Oh, Glynda. I didn’t expect you to be up so early.” Said One.

“It’s a habit, but I thought you only had sisters?” she curiously questioned.

“This is my brother, Brother One. I keep him a secret because he is my failsafe, in case everything goes wrong.” she explained.

“A smart move. But, I’m honored you trust me with this.”

“With how shortly you’ll be staying here, it’s not much of a risk.”

“Fair point. But, I just finished my breakfast and came to see if you needed anything of me before I head off to the library.” Glynda explained. One thought for a moment, looking at Glynda, a teacher of combat, and then her brother, someone who needed combat training.

“Actually, yes. I’ll be gone for a few days to gather my sisters. I have word that Zero is making her way here once more. During that time, I’d like for you to train my brother. At least a few hours a day would suffice.”

“I can do that. Do you have any specific kind training in mind?” Glynda asked. She preferred to be very thorough.

“Combat training, but before I leave, would you mind having a spar with me?” Once asked of Glynda. “I’d like to gauge your strength against mine.”

“I don’t mind at all. I believe this will be a beneficial experience for both of us.” Glynda said, drawing out The Disciplinarian.

“Good. However, no magic, only our other abilities, our weapons, and our surroundings. Our spar ends when one of us is depleted of our aura. Is that agreeable?”

“Very. Now, let’s begin.”

Glynda, with an aura coated fist, hit a nearby pillar to knock a few chunks of stone out of it. Using her semblance, she sent the stones hurtling towards One with incredible speed. With skilled dexterity, One used her chakram to reduce them all to dust before they hit her. However, she did not anticipate for them to reform and hone in on her once more. She jumped just in time for the stones to crash into each other, rather than her.

“Impressive technique.” One complimented.

“Thank you. It usually gets them the first time though.” Glynda bantered.

This time, she kicked a pillar to chunk off larger pieces. They were hurled at One as she was still in the air, but she was fast with her chakram. It was obviously a weapon forged with only the best materials. It sliced through the stone like butter, cutting it up into smaller and smaller pieces. By the time she realized her error, she was being pelted by pebbles that hit hard due to the incredible velocity they were flying at. Focusing on her aura, she extended it outwards instantly in the shape of a bubble, pulverizing any remaining projectiles in the vicinity.

Free of the onslaught, she threw her chakram into the air. It was a slow move that Glynda could see she could dodge if she moved unpredictably. Unfortunately for her, One’s senses were too sharp to allow her to miss. It crashed down onto Glynda with incredible force, meteroing her into the ground. She got up as quickly as she could, but One used this opening to unleash a combo of attacks that Glynda could not defend against.

Meanwhile, Brother One was watching intently, amazed at his sister’s skill, and Glynda’s own tenacity and skill as well. He was excited for the coming days, and hoped to learn much. He wanted to make his sister proud. He was certainly proud of his sister as with one final attack infused with her aura, she shattered the aura of her opponent, winning the spar.

“Impressive.” One complemented as she helped Glynda up.

“You’re quite impressive yourself.” she returned as she dusted herself off.

“Us Intoners are rather… gifted.”

“I get the feeling that’s an understatement.”

“It is.” Brother One interjected. “With Zero on her way, you’ll be likely to see the full might of an Intoner soon.”

“In any case, I have no doubt you can teach my Brother much. Well. I should be taking my leave now. The sooner our sisters are here, the better.”

“A wise move.” Glynda commented. Then, they all heard the door to the training ground open.

“A report, My Lady.” the servant said. He only acknowledges his Intoner. Glynda notices that Brother One even doesn’t try to hide. He just looks at the exchange.

“What does it say?”

“Zero and her group have been spotted in an area a few days away. However, a soldier that managed to escape said that most of the loss was caused by her dragon, and a new member of her group: a man with a scorpion tail.” he stated. Glynda immediately perked up at the mention of Zero’s new friend.

“Tyrian… I know that man.” she told One. “Tyrian. He’s a follower of Salem. When Zero arrives, I will take care of him.”

“I am sure you will.” she tells Glynda. “Get the Dragon-Bone daggers,” she orders the servant, “and give them to her.” She returns her attention to Glynda. “Consider it a gift for instructing my Brother, and something to help your world should The Flower ever become a threat there.”

“Of course. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” One says, and looks to the sky. “Gabriel.” In mere moments, an incredible dragon appears at her call. It is unlike anything Glynda has ever seen, and stares at it in awe. One’s words had not done it any justice. With the flap of its wings, it is in the air, and out of sight in only a few minutes.

“My sister has a theory that her aura is strong because her pact partner is Gabriel.” One tells Glynda.

“Hmm...” she thinks for a moment. “That could be a factor, all things considered.”

“It’s a rather interesting way the rules of our worlds interact, don’t you think, Miss Glynda?”

“Yes, it is. But if I’m going to be your teacher, call me Miss Goodwitch.” she instructs him.

“Understood, Miss Goodwitch.”

“Hm.” she acknowledges. “Let’s begin today’s training then. First, show me what you know.”

“Mmm, to what pleasure do I owe you, my dear sister? Bored of the Cathedral city? Looking for some real fun? I do have the best brothels in the land.”

“No, Five. I’m here to gather you and our sisters. Zero is launching another attack, and I intend to finish her this time.”

“Aww, can’t we have some fun with her first? We never had any fun...” she laments.

“No again, Five.”

“Oh, all well. You’ll have prostitutes in the city, right?”

“Yes Five. There will be prostitutes.” One says.

“Oh goody!” she squealed as she claps and hops up and down, her tits bouncing uncontrollably. The servants in the room all have their eyes on her. “Let's get going then! Cathedral City, here I cum! Uwaaah!” Silently, One prays for Four.

“Eeyah! There’s my favorite, flat chested sister, Four! And my breasts are still as huge as ever, if you don’t believe my letters. Are you still doing that whole virginity thing anyways? I just have to know.” Five asks Four.

“Hello One, Five.” She greets, ignoring what Five just said.

“Hello Four.”

“Now, I imagine you have an important message or a request of me? Whatever it is, I’ll do it!” she affirms.

“Mmm, whatever? You’re so brave...” Five asked. Four turned to her to give her a death glare. I will fucking kill you, whore! She mouthed, facing away from One.

“Oh Four, so you do have it in you...” Five said pridefully, clearly misinterpreting her sister somehow. Four took in a deep breath, put a smile on her face, and turned back to her big sister.

“I’ll help you however I can One.”

“Good. Zero is attacking Cathedral City again. This time will be her last.” One said. Four immediately deflated.

“What? But One, Zero’s our sister! We can’t just kill her! Our Zero is still in there!” she reasoned.

“Four, I’m sorry. I truly am. We all want to be a family with Zero as much as you, but we just can’t.” One began, placing her hands on Four’s shoulders. “If we want to help our Zero, we have to kill the traitor Zero. That way, our Zero can rest in peace. That is all we can do.”

“I― Alright. Alright. I understand. Thank you One.” she said, giving her sister a hug. It felt so nice to have One return the hug. Then she felt a pressure on the side of her, and on her head. It was Five joining in on the hug, with her breasts resting on Four’s head.

“Mmh I just love these sisterly moments.” she said as she hugged them harder.

Four was going to fucking scream, but, she did not, at least not externally. She only hoped Five did not push her off the edge around her favorite sister, One. But even then, she wasn’t sure she would mind if that happened.

“I’ll help, of course.” Three replies sleepily. “I won’t have another chance to experiment with an Intoner in such a way, after all.”

“Oooh, I think I can help you with some Intoner experiments...” Five said salaciously.

“Science thanks you for your contribution.” She says with a clink clink clink of her scissors.

“Umm, on second thought, I just remembered I have other plans cuming up.”

“But Five! Think of all the good you’d be doing for science!” Four pointed out.

“No experimenting on Intoners. When we kill Zero, we’ll give her a proper burial. We have to give her that much respect. She’s still our sister, remember?”

“If you say so.” Three huffed, rather unhappy she would have to give up time that could have been used experimenting. Five was relieved, happy she would live another day to enjoy life and sex. Four was sad, sad that Zero would be dead soon, and that Five wouldn’t tragically die in an experiment gone wrong.

“Gone? What do you mean she’s gone!?!” One demanded to know.

“How do you lose your Intoner?!?” Four also demanded to know.

“You don’t treasure her, pleasure her, you know, the basics.” Five answered her. One and Four looked sternly at her. “What? I’m right, aren’t I?” she asked the man who had taken Two’s role as leader in her absence.

“Well, yes...” he admitted.

“See? These gigantic boobs aren’t just for looks you know.” she said as she caressed them. Four facepalmed and shook her head. One let out a sigh.

“Is that so?” Three clinked.

“Well duh! What else am I gonna think with besides my fat pussy? Oh dear sisters, you have so much to learn.” Five chuckled as she rested her head in her palm. Four clenched her fist so hard blood began to trickle. The only thing that stopped her from killing Five right then and there was One’s hand on her shoulder to hold her back.

“I believe your brain is what truly requires further study.” Clink.

“My what?”

“No, both of you.” One ordered.

“Why not? A star falls from the sky as wolf howls at the sun, and I experiment to learn.” Three explained.

“That doesn’t make any sense! That’s a terrible metaphor!” Four yelled.

“Is it Four? Isn’t it?”

“Enough bickering. We have to find Two. You, wh― Five, seduce him later.” One ordered.

“But One!” Five said as she was unbuttoning his shirt.

“Later. You, where could she be?” One demanded as Five got off him. “Oh, umm.” he began, flustered. “She can’t be too far, I imagine. But she could be very far too. She’s been gone for a while.”

“Great. Thanks.” One said plainly. “Five, can I see you for a moment? In private?”

“Ooomhhh, of course.” she said, meeting One outside the room. “What is it, my dear, dear sister?”

“He’s hiding something. I need you to fuck the information out of him.” she explained. Five lit up.

“Ooooh, consider his dick done for.” she grinned.

“Good.” One said as she opened the door. “Three, Four, lets go. Five, have fun. Show no mercy.” Five sexily sauntered in as her sisters left.

“My pussy is gonna rip your dick clean off, big man!” They could hear her yell.

“Ugh, why does she have to be like that? Why can’t she be respectable?” Four complained, uncovering her ears.

“She thinks with her fat pussy and her gigantic boobs. What do you expect?” Three reasoned.

“Quit being so vulgar!” Four shouted as she covered her ears.

“If its any consolation Four, she’s not just doing this for her own pleasure. It’s also for the mission I gave her. He’s hiding something, and Five is finding out what.”

“One! There’s a better way to do that, isn’t there?” Four questioned.

“I can think of a few ways.” Three clinked her scissors.

“Ugh. nevermind. … You’re right. This probably is the best way to do it right now. You know, I can do a mission for you too if you need me to.” Four offered. Three opened her mouth to speak. “Not you.” Four cut her off. She closed her mouth.

“I’ll let you know Four. But I’m sure there is something acceptable you could help Three with when this is all done.” One told her.

“Heh heh. Hear that Four? I have lots of acceptable things we could work on together.” Three smiled as she clinked her scissors happily.

“Of course Three, of course.” Four fake smiles. If it wasn’t for One suggesting it, she wouldn’t have smiled at all. She would have done something else.

“Found her! Poor thing, I don’t even think she’s been fucked in forever. Nice room though. The bed was great for napping, and the furniture gave me some banging ideas for the sexy pool I’m making.” Five went on as she propped Two onto Gabriel.

“Sis...ters...” Two managed to speak.

“You live by the ocean, Five. What do you need a pool for?” Four asked with disdain for her sister’s idiocy. The bright side was that the breeze that blew as they flew kept her cool enough to deal with Five, for now.

“Oh, this pool is gonna be inside another pool, and that pool is gonna be in the ocean. I’m gonna be sooo wet when it’s done, mmmhh, three times as wet...” Five moaned dreamily, then innocently giggled. That was the last straw for Four, and One could tell.

“Four, no.” It was too late. Four screamed as she launched herself at Five.

“Oooh, this scale is extra shiny!” Five gasped as she bent down to get a closer look, allowing Four to fall off of Gabriel onto the ground below.

“YOU STUPID WHOOOOOORE!” she yelled as she fell.

“I always knew I would help her scream someday. I just always thought it would be at a brothel I recommended.” Five noted. Meanwhile, Three was poking at Two’s head.

“Fascinating. She exhibits no reaction. I wonder if there is damage to her nervous system. How could an Intoner’s nervous system be damaged? What does the damage to her nervous system look like compared to a human? What does an Intoner’s nervous system look like compared to a human’s in the first place? A warm blanket smothers the cold in summer rain like the moon covers the sun, I suppose. One―”

“No.” she immediately answered as she had Gabriel fly down to catch Three. Once he caught her with his mouth by her hoodie, he threw her up to land right back on his back. “One, Four, Two, Three, Five. That’s the order we’re gonna sit in.” With swiftness, they rearranged themselves.

“You know Three, your hair is rather pretty. I’ve never noticed it before.” Five realized.

“Thank you. It’s constantly growing, like One’s senses, Two’s strength,” Three began.

“Twooo...” Two quietly repeated.

“Four’s nails, and your breasts. It is interesting that we all have something unique about us that constantly grows. I believe it is an outlet for the excess magic that courses through us, but to be sure of that would require experimentation and study… Acceptable” she emphasized for One, “experimentation and study. However, only One and Two’s traits seem to be a useful function.”

“No, my breasts are great for attracting people, and hair is just as much of a factor in attracting people as breasts!” Five explained.

“Hmm… That is sound reasoning. That would leave Four’s nails as the least useful.”

“They’ll be useful for―” she began to sing song sinisterly.

“Four.” One said.

“I was going to say they’re useful for showing how much I love all my sisters.” she smiled like she was innocent and pure.

“Did you cut them recently?” Three asked with good reason. It made Five chuckle.

“Oh Three, you’re so funny! My, you’re funny, and pretty. Why aren’t you drowning in sexy sex? Mmh! I know! Let me braid your hair!” Five offered.

“Why?” Three wondered.

“Think of it like an experiment. Watch, once I finish with your hair, you’ll be drawing in people more than ever! You can compare how many people you brought in before I braided your hair, and how many people you bring in after I finish your hair.”

“A study in human nature and what it finds attractive… Alright. You may braid it.” Three allowed.

“Eeee! This is gonna be so much fun!” Five squealed. “I just love braiding hair. It’s too bad I suck at braiding my own hair. I’ve sucked lots of things, now that I think about it.” She alluded as she began to work on Three’s hair. By now, Four had calmed down, and was able to ignore her sister’s innuendos. And to her surprise, braiding seemed to keep Five busy, and her filthy mouth shut. This, Four was grateful for.

“Cent...”

“Hmm?” Four asked.

“Miss… Cent… cock...” Two whispered weakly, so low that only Four could hear.

Four flung herself off of Gabriel, screaming into her hood as she fell to the city below.

“FOUR!?! WHAT THE HELL?!? Goddammit. Gabriel, take them home please.” she sighed as she dove to join Four.

“Huh, I guess she really likes screaming now. Good for her.” Five said, and went back to braiding.

“Perhaps her mind requires study as well. Hmm… Maybe all Intoner’s minds require study.” Four mentioned, and then shrugged the thought away and went back to nodding off peacefully as Five braided her hair.

“He he… Fun..ny…” Two laughed.

“Four...”

“Yes?” she replied sharply.

“Tell me, what’s bothering you?” One asked.

“Our sisters, what else?! Zero isn’t Zero anymore, Two somehow manages to be terrible, Three is so illogical, and Five is the worst of them all! She has no respect for herself or others! She has no self control! A sack of rocks has more brain power than her! She doesn’t care about anything except for being a selfish, sex crazed glutton!” Four shouted as they walked through the street. The people paid no mind toward her.

“Four, please forgive me for being blunt with you, but please have some empathy.” One sighed.

“I have empathy! I―”

“Perhaps you do, but you need to have it for our sisters as well, not just your people. Two’s mind is broken, Four. We have to be understanding, and help her. She would have done the same and more for any of us. And you know she would never purposefully anger you. Even if it seems odd to us, Three is just trying to help in her own way, the only way she knows how. All her science is for the benefit of all of us. If you asked her for help with an experiment or research, she would help you in an instant. I know you’re having trouble growing food in the mountains, and Three would gladly figure out a solution for you.”

“Oh. I see...” Four said quietly.

“And Five… Five is Five. I’ll let you in on a secret. Don’t tell her, but she gets on my nerves a lot too.”

“Hmph. I’m not surprised.” Four said as she rolled her eyes.

“But, we’re her big sisters. She just wants attention from us. And like Three, she just shows it in the only way she knows how. She doesn’t mean to aggravate you Four.”

“Sure seems like it.”

“Four… Has Five ever given you any indication that she hates you?”

“... No. She hasn’t.”

“Five loves you as much as she loves the rest of us. I know some of her… activities aren’t to your liking, but she just wants to spend time with you, especially you because you push her away. She doesn’t want you to leave her. She just wants for you two to be sisters.”

“I guess, when you put it like that...” she paused and began to cry. “Oh One! I have been a terrible sister! I’ve been so mean to them all this time, and I, and I―” she sobbed, unable to continue speaking. One pulled her in for a hug.

“There, there Four.” One comforted.

“T―Thank you One. I’m sorry. There’s no excuse for how I was acting.” Four shamefully admitted.

“In your defense Four, you didn’t know. But now, you know.” One stated.

“Is there even any way I can make it up to them?” Four asked.

“Just spend time with them. I’m sure Two would take comfort in knowing that you spent time with her, maybe help her with her land once and a while. She would appreciate that. Or visit an orphanage with her. She always loved that.”

“That does sound nice. I do like paperwork, and visiting the orphanage would be good for her, I think.”

“And don’t be shy to ask Three for help. Ultimately, she would be glad to work on a project with you. And visit her and see if she needs help from you. I imagine she would like to study the habitats in your land.”

“That would be fun, wouldn’t it? And we would be getting so much work done together.” Four smiled at the prospect.

“And Five. I'm not going to tell you to visit her brothels or anything, but just try to be a little nicer to her. Or at least write her back. Remember, she just wants your attention.”

“I’ll try One, I promise you, I’ll try.”

“I’m glad.” she said. She was surprised when Four pulled her in for another hug.

“Thank you so much One!” she said as she hugged her sister harder, causing her to yelp. “I don’t know what I would do without you!”

“I’m your big sister. I just want to see my younger sisters happy, together.” She said, and could feel Four loosen our grip.

“It’s too bad Zero can’t be with us...”

“It is. But, like I said before, all we can do now is help put her to rest.” They continued to walk in silence for sometime. “Oh, this reminds me!” One exclaimed as they neared her home. “Let me see your hands.”

“Of course.” Four said as she offered out her hands. She saw one close her eyes as what she could only describe as a red glow enveloped one. It moved into Four, soon turning a light green color. When she was done, Four looked at her hands and arms in amazement.

“Was that a new form of magic?” Four wondered. “It feels… different.”

“In a sense, yes. It is called Aura. A woman who traveled from another world unlocked it in me. I would have told you all sooner, but the opportunity hadn’t come up.”

“It’s alright. We were rather busy after all. Hm, I’m sure this will interest Three a lot though.”

“I imagine so, as well.” One said. They continued to walk to meet back up with their sisters. Along the way, One explained to Four what Glynda had taught her about this new form of “magic.”

“Hello One, Four.” greeted Three once they found her. Two was also with her, but no Five.

“Hello Three.” One greeted back. “Everything went well, I assume.”

“Oh, very well. I even met a woman who taught me a new form of magic. See?” she said as she brought forth a light purple glow. “Intriguing, isn’t it?” she laughed. “This will require lots of experimentation. I wonder if this can get this to affect my dolls?” she asked herself.

“I guess she told you stuff about Aura too, hmm?” One asked.

“Naturally.”

“Hey, Three, where is Five anyways?” Four questioned.

“With the woman. Five said she wanted further instructions on her new powers.” Three answered.

“Well good for her. I’m glad she’s having fun!” Four replied.

“You don’t have to try that hard Four.” One clarified.

“Oh, thank god.” Four exhaled. “If I had to do that again, I think I would have puked.”

“Do you think Two can still cook?” Three said as she looked at a spaced out Two.

“Cook...” she murmured. Just then, Four’s stomach growled.

“Only one way to find out.” Four said as she went to gather Two. “Come on Two, let’s go cook together.” Two only murmured something indiscernible.

“Wake me up when the food is done.” Four yawned as she laid down on the table before her. A couch was only a few feet away. With all her sisters busy, One went to go check on her brother. As it turns out, Glynda was an excellent teacher. Who would have guessed.

“Ohhhhhh Fooooooouuuuuuuuuur!” Five called as she was setting the table. Four prepared herself, keeping her big sister’s words in mind.

“Yes, Five?” She answered as Five breasted boobily towards her. Trailing behind her was a woman she could only assume was Miss Glynda Goodwitch.

“Look what Miss Goodwitch taught me!” She said. In an instant, her nails glowed a shimmering gold, and grew to a length that easily rivaled Four’s own nails. “See, we match now. Twinsies!” she excitedly exclaimed as her hair also glowed brightly. “She says I have to name my semblance. Ooh! What should I name it?”

Four was… shocked, dumfounded, surprised, speechless, astonished, bewildered, the whole shebang. To think Five found such joy in having something in common with her was unimaginable. They were just so, so different, near complete opposites. But this was more proof the One was right, that Five wants her sister’s attention more than anything, and that she does love her sister.

“How about… Sister’s Love.” she offered.

“You’re so silly Four!” Five giggled. “Ooooohhh I love it! It’s perfect. We can have a girl’s night painting our nails together and everything! I’ll make them so pretty you’ll have to beat the men off you! Mmmh, beat them hard.”

Four was grateful she said she didn’t have to try too hard, so she ignored that last comment. It was an improvement over ignoring her entirely. But, spending time doing each other’s nails seemed like it would be a fine time, if Five braiding Three’s hair was any indication.

“When this is over, I’ll check my schedule to see when we can have some together time. Okay?”

“Oh of course! I always knew I’d get you to spend some quality time with me. Mmm I’m sooo excited.” Five giggled once more. Yet, for some reason, the sexual nature of her words did not aggravate Four as much as they used to.

“I’m excited for dinner. Where’s dinner?” Three spoke as her head still resting on the table.

“Only the most healthy and nutritiously beneficial dinner anyone could ask for! Unfortunately, Two can’t really cook anymore, so I did all the cooking, but she was a big help!” Four explained. Two was really good at holding things in her arms, no matter how heavy. Even the centaur ribs didn’t maker her arms buckle. She was also very good at balancing bowls on her head. “Could you get off the table now? I have to put the centerpiece there.” she requested of Three. Lazily, she got up and flung herself to the floor with a thud.

“Is she okay?” Glynda asked as she took a seat at a nearby chair. Typically, seeing someone throw themselves onto the floor was cause for concern. Five just stepped over her as she led Two to the couch.

“Yeah, she’s fine. She just really likes to sleep. I know I like sleeping all over the place too.” Five answered as she placed Three on the couch, resting her head in Two’s lap. She also placed Two’s hands on Three’s head.

“S… soft...” she quietly said as she began petting Three’s hair.

“Oh aren’t they just the most adorable?! I wish I could get a painting to make it last forever!” she shouted as Three still slept peacefully.

“I think I might be able to help with that.” Glynda said as she got up. She went to where the couch, and brought out her scroll. It was the latest model, built with the newest functions. She took a picture, and with a few taps, a physical picture printed out of the bottom of it. It was not particularly large by any means, but it printed out the details of the photo well enough. She handed the photo to Five, who took it almost greedily.

“It’s wonderful.” she gasped. “Let’s do another one!” she insisted.

“I can only do this nine more times, so I’d rather be more sparse with printing a picture.”

“We have to get a picture with all five of us then!” Five insisted again.

“That does sound like a nice thing to do.” One said as she joined the group. “But we should do it after we eat. May I see?” One asks Five. She inspects the paper, then admires the serene photo. Two almost looks like her former self, with a gentle smile on her face and a soft look in her eyes. Meanwhile, Three rests peacefully in her big sister’s lap. Why it brings a tear to One’s eye, is unknown to her.

“What’s wrong?” Glynda asks.

“Huh? Oh, nothing.” she quickly answers as she wipes the tear away. “Nothing bad.” she clarifies.

“Food’s ready!” Four sings as six servants follow behind her, tearing the unwanted attention away from One.

Each servant carries a covered tray of food, and holds open a seat for each of them. Four guides Two to a seat. Once the servants had them all properly seated, they placed down the tray, and unveiled the tantalizing food beneath.

“I’m no Two when it comes to cooking, but I tried to cook like I think she would have. Its still a very balanced meal though.” she makes sure to state. Five is the first to taste the food.

“Mmmnnm It’s absolutely divine.” she moans nonsexually for once, and digs in. “What is it?”

“Centaur ribs, with centaur cheese, cooked with aged red wine and olive oil, and drizzled with strawberry jam. On the side is whole wheat bread and steamed vegetables, lightly salted.” she listed.

“...Yummy.” Two said after swallowing the bite One gave her.

“Well, Two approves.” One announces.

“Really?!” Four gasps. Two’s smile is evident of her approval. “Twooo… ” Four says as she almost bursts into tears.

“I’m not sure if it means much, but this is the best meal I’ve had in years.” Glynda after she took a bite. She never thought she'd eat a monster, or that it would taste so good.

“It’s the first cooked meal I’ve had in years.” Three comments as she slowly but surely picks away at her food.

“Three! No wonder you’re so skinny!” Four exclaims in horror.

“So you think I’m skinny? Noted for future reference.” she states.

“That settles it!” Four says as she takes a bite of her handiwork.

“Mmmhhhhnnnn… soo goood!” Five cries out.

“I’m making you a meal plan!” Four finishes.

“Not necessary. Towers shoot for the moon as god is bound by rules” Four riddles.

“But if you eat healthier,” Four begins, “you’ll be able you stay awake longer, and focus on your experiments better.” That definitely got her sister’s attention.

“Science thanks you for your contributions.” she says with eager intensity, and returns to eating. Four chuckles.

“You're welcome Three.” she says gladly as she returns to eating her food.

One looks at her sisters, all happily sitting at a table together. It’s the happiest they’ve all been in such a long time. So naturally, she is very happy. Especially now that Four and Five are on the path to being on good terms. And Three seems to be opening up to them all, and Two is no longer being neglected. There is little else she could ask for. … There is much she could ask for, but at the moment, this was all she needed. Yet, something felt missing. Someone should be there with them.

“Everyone,” she announces, “there is someone I would like you all to meet.” They all look at her with curiosity.

“Who?” The other sisters each ask in unison.

“Oh, umm, a moment please.” she requests as she runs off.

“Who do you all think it is?” Glynda asks them, eager to see their reaction.

“I hope its a slutty prostitute. Sex after a good meal always hits the spot.” Five offers as her answer.

“Five.” Four berates.

“Oh fine, a respectable, slutty prostitute.”

“Hmm…” Three says, unsure of how to respond to Five. Four was at least glad the prostitute would be respectable. She couldn’t ask for much better when it came to the matter. “Well maybe its a disciple she made on her own. Three?”

“A brother in black has a brother in black. A sister in red has a sister in red.” Three yawns. “Two?”

“A… child.”

“Ooh, spicy. I wonder how she made it, or do you think it was the stork that brought it?” Five wondered aloud.

“Babies are made through sex, Five.” Glynda told her.

“Sex? You don’t make babies through sex! Why, I’d have more kids than there is sand in Two’s land if that were true!”

“No, she’s not joking.” Four said before Glynda could ask.

“Nor is she exaggerating.” Three added.

“You ladies really have to stop thinking with that brain thing. It’s putting all sorts of ideas in your heads.”

“Everyone.” said One as she reentered the room. “I’d like for you to meet our brother.” They were all in shock as she stepped off to the side to reveal their brother.

“Hello everyone.” he waved demurely. “I’m Brother One, but just Brother will do. It’s nice to meet you.” Five was the first to get up and run towards him.

“Ohh look at you!” She said as she cupped his face. “You’re just as cute as One!” She gasped suddenly. “Mmm this means I’m a big sister! If you ever need anything at all, just let me know and I’ll be sure to get it for you, my little Brother!” Five exclaimed gleefully.

“Five, give him some space.” Four said. “Hello Brother. I’m Four, ruler of the Land of Mountains. It’s nice to finally meet you too.” She introduced herself with a handshake and a genuine smile.

“I’m Three.” Three greeted. “Don’t worry One, I won’t experiment on him. I have lots of toys you can play with. We can have fun like automatons that become clowns under an immortal sun.” She offers.

“Two… he he...”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Two.” He greets. She smiles ever so slightly. But before they can continue their introductions, they are interrupted.

“Lady One.” the servant says obliviously.

“What?” she demands to know.

“Lady Zero has infiltrated the Cathedral City. Troops are already being dispatched as we speak.”

“Dammit.” she curses. “Everyone. We proceed as planned.” With great dissatisfaction, they all begin to leave.

“Wait!” she shouted before they left the room. “When this is done, let’s all take a picture together, alright?”

One by one, she sees her sister’s songs begin in the distance. With every song, she knows Zero comes closer and closer to her. She’s done waiting.

“Gabriel.”

“It’ll be zero soon enough!” Glynda shouts, and sends the daggers flying towards Zero and Tyrian. Her target is Tyrian, but she still wants to help one however she can. Both are barely scraped, but Zero seems shocked nonetheless.

“Dragonbone… Who the hell are you, bitch?!” she spits out with her traitorous tongue.

“Miss Goodwitch, soooo nice to see you again. A shame your death won’t be permanent!” Tyrian shouts as he launches himself towards her. Swiftly, she sends some of the daggers at him, and the rest at Zero as she makes her way towards One and Gabriel. However, Tyrian just requires too much attention, and is forced to recall the ones sent after Zero.

“Come on Zero! Hop on!” she hears the dragon say. She didn’t expect him to sound like a child.

“Tch. You just had to show up and make things difficult, didn’t you?” she said in a caustic tone.

“Well I can’t defy the will of my Goddess, now can I?” he answers with a wicked smile. “Buut, I think I would have loved to show up and ruin your day anyways.”

“Figures.” she states. What else would she expect of the devout madman? She keeps throwing the large daggers at him, cycling through them to ensure that he is offered no openings.

“Can’t you be any more fun to fight? I’ve been soooo bored lately.” he complains like a murder loving child. He deflects a dagger back to her, but she tilts her head to dodge it.

“No.” Was there any other answer she would give? Yes? I’ll kill you right now, just come a little closer, deadly murderer?

“I guess I have to do allll the heavy lifting then.” he says like he’s unhappy with the task. With a berserker mindset, he goes on the offensive, but has little success. He is thrown back with magical telekinesis, though he can't tell if it was magic or semblance, not that he knew enough to even wonder that.

She uses the daggers as stairs to get far out of his reach. Using her magic, she brought forth the debris below. It would be a hailstorm of detritus that he would not be able to withstand. Broken swords, large boulders, catapults, spear tips, and a few trees targeted him like flies to honey. However, Tyrian proved to be more slippery than sticky.

She heard him scream something, but was too focused to make out what he was yelling about. She had hoped the trail mix of debris would take care of him, but things were never so easy with Tyrian. That is why she kept her Dragon-Bone Daggers by her side. Just when he thought he had her, she jammed one right into his back. He didn’t even see it coming. With her semblance, she sent him crashing down. She sent down two more daggers to penetrate his arms for good measure.

“YOU FUCKING WHORE!” she heard him wail in agony as she descended on the remaining two daggers. “I WILL NOT LOSE! MY GODDESS DEMANDS IT!” With incredible resolve, he picks himself up and lurches towards her. She could see that a random spear pierced a leg in his fall. Blood runs from his wounds and mouth, yet, he goes on. “I, WILL NOT, LET, HER DOWN! I, WILL, NOT, LET, HER, DOWN!” he repeats like it is a mantra “I, WILL―” He doesn’t finish as a dagger embeds itself in his throat. He falls to his knees.

“Tell her Ozpin sends his regards.” she tells him through heavy breathing. She sees him fade into nothingness, almost like a grimm, and hears The Final Song begin. Above her, a pretty flower can be seen blossoming: The Flower.

“What the hell did you do One?” Zero asks as they circle the Flower on their dragons.

“I, I don’t know.” she answers.

“So you don’t know how you just started breathing fire? You know, the fire tHAT FUCKING FORCED THE FLOWER OUT OF ME!?!” Zero screams out. The flower that once covered her eye is gone now. A long scar has taken its place

“It could have something to do with Aura and my and Gabriel’s pact, or it could be my semblance…” One ponderd.

“Meaning???”

“I’ll explain later. We have The Flower to kill. I’ll take care of the rings. You see if you can hurt it physically. If we’re lucky, maybe your semblance will manifest soon, and into something useful.”

“Sure. Whatever. Mikail, up.”

“Got it!”

“The Flower… It was always our enemy.” Four says solemnly as she looks at her eldest sisters in the sky above.

“And Zero. Her goal to kill us wasn’t as wicked as we believed.” Three realizes aloud.

“But why would One hide this from us?” Two, having regained her mind, wonders.

“I don’t know.” Five answers.

“For the same reason she hid Brother One: she didn’t know if she could trust you all. The Flower had its grip on all the Intoners. And with you all, the grip was tighter. But unlike Zero, One believed The Flower could be defeated with her younger sisters still alive in the end.” Glynda explains.

“So what do we do now? We just can’t stand down here and do nothing!” Four shouts.

“Now that The Flower’s power is no longer within us, I don’t think there is much we can do.” Three hypothesizes.

“Only a dragon, or an Intoner can even harm The Flower.” Two mentions. “And none of us are Intoners anymore, and none of us have dragons.”

“But, We have Dragon-Bone weapons.” She says as she brings out the daggers gifted to her. “With my magic, I can send us all up there to help.”

“WAIT!” They hear a male voice shout. “Wait!” He shouts again.

“Brother?” Five asks. “Aren’t you supposed to be in the tower?”

“I’m done hiding.” he huffs as he catches his breath. “I want to be here to help you all.” He eagerly says with determination as she unsheathes his sword.

“It’s settled then.” Glynda says as she gives the younger sisters a Flower killing dagger. “There’s no turning back now, and there’s no other way forward. We will kill this Flower. Say it! We will kill The Flower!” She orders.

“We Will Kill The Flower!” the siblings shout in unison as they all ascend to atone for the Intoners they once were.

A single flower gently sways as it falls to the ground. Its five petals are a brilliant, incomparable white. Each had birthed an image of an intoner, an image in the medium of massless salt. Each Beast had fallen, so now, its remains fall. Softly, it lands perfectly onto the cobblestone ground of the Cathedral City. Zero stabs it with her sword for good measure.

“Goodbye you fucking piece of shit.” she insults. For better measure, One sets it aflame. They all watch, bruised and bloody, as it burns an unparalleled black, the color of its predecessor, and ashes into nothingness.

“So what now?” Mikail asks, breaking the silence.

“I’m gonna crash at your place, One. Nobody bother me for a week.” Zero exaggerated as she walked to the main cathedral where One resides.

“A good rest is in order for all of you.” Glynda says. “You’ve all earned it.”

“Agreed. We can all discuss this in the morning, or whatever.” One drones out, most tired of them all probably. With that, they all weakly make their way towards One’s residence.

Brother One sleeps soundly, glad he no longer has to hide. Five falls asleep wondering what her life will be like now that The Flower no longer influences her desires. Four falls asleep almost unable to comprehend what transpired. Three falls asleep in a way that feels different than before. Two cries that she is herself once more, and that she is without Cent. One wonders what will become of her younger sisters now that they know the truth. Zero falls asleep, questioning what she will do with her life now that she has one to call her own.

Two is the first awake. She always was, as she was in charge of breakfast, and all the other cooking when she was with her sisters. When they were younger, she imagined she would always be cooking for her sisters, and cooking with the one she loved someday. For the longest time, she didn’t know what he would look or be like. Then she saw Cent, and knew he was the one. He saw her, and knew she was the one. They say it is better to have loved and lost that love, to have never loved at all. She isn’t sure what to think of the saying. The memories of them together are too painful, but she would never want to live without them, even if some of them were implanted by The Flower. Quietly, and sadly, she opens the door to the kitchen.

“Hello, Lady Three.” A voice greets, a voice she recognizes instantly.

“Cent! Oh Cent you’re alive!” She shouts with incredible joy as she runs to him and holds onto him tightly. “But how?”

“Zero. She and that other woman gathered us up and somehow turned us back. Can’t say I know how though.” He answers his lady as they embrace each other.

“All that matters is that you’re alive. I’m never letting you go ever again!” she says as she kisses him. He kisses her back, and intends to never leave her again. Together, they make a wonderful breakfast.

“Good evening Zero.” One greets as she takes a bite of eggs and bacon.

“Morning sleepyhead!” Five says as she moves onto her second plate. Was it morning, or evening then? Did it really matter?

“I made sure we saved a plate for you.” Two says as she leads Zero to her seat.

“Thanks.” she replies.

“And you have my gratitude for reviving the disciples. It will be good to have a willing test subject.” Three thanks.

“Gnnnnhh. Truly. I must thank you too, Lady Zero.” Decadus groans.

“Keep it in your pants freak, I’m trying to eat here.” Dito tells the masochist. Four wipes away a tear.

“Thank you Zero. I’m so glad I have someone who understands me.” Four says, sounding like she’s about to really cry.

“Whatever. If anything, thank the Goodwitch woman. She did most of the heavy lifting. I just did some magic mumbo jumbo Michael taught me to pull it all together.”

“Really? Then you have our thanks too, Glynda.” Brother One said, and the others thanked her as well.

“You’re all welcome. I’m just glad I could help.” She said as she returned to eating.

Zero looked around at the table. Seeing her sisters and not immediately be filled with the urge to kill them was new. It would take some getting used to. However, she could not help but feel in the back of her mind that it was all wrong. But, she there was no reason to feel that way anymore. The Flower was gone. They were no longer Intoners. They were just normal humans now, laughing, joking, wincing at the bruises than littered their body, being a family. Her goal was always to die. Even just last night, she considered it. Her life was hers now, no longer a slave to The Flower’s demise. She wasn’t even sure life would be good enough to live, but seeing her sisters, the disciples, and the woman that helped them, she knew that she at least had to try. At least for Mikhail too.

“Hey, where’s Mikhail? The big baby is probably hungry.” She said.

“With Gabrielle. He’s teaching her how to fly. Don’t worry though, they already ate.” One responded.

“Daemonification is that easy to undo huh?” Zero wondered, almost finished with her plate. She was more hungry than she thought.

“Yes, and no.” One answered with a hint of sadness. Zero didn’t press any further.

“When you arrived,” One began, “we promised we would all take a picture together when the fight was over.”

“Cocky, weren’t you?” Zero teased.

“Did someone say cock? Mmmmmhhnnnn I could really take some of that right now.” Five looked up, mid bite.

“Yeah, it’s just outside that window. You might have to lean out reeeeeal far to reach it.” Zero said. Quickly, she got up and ran to the window. Octa followed her, shouting that Zero was joking, that there was no cock outside the supposed makeshift gloryhole.

“That’s cruel, Zero... ” Five said angrily as she crossed her arms. She laughed, along with Four, Brother One, and Goodwitch. Yes, this life would be fine. It was certainly off to a better start than her previous ones.

“Alright everyone, five seconds!” Glynda shouted as she ran back to join the group. The former Intoners, the disciples, Mikail, and a baby Gabrielle readied themselves for the picture. Mikail lay regaly as Zero told him, and Gabrielle copied him as she sat in One’s lap. She was only a short matter of time before she would be too big for that.

Glynda took a spot next to One, standing tall and proud. Five posed sexily, showing her best assets, Octa Stood next to her, doing his best to accentuate her features. Four stood in a basic, refined posture, and Dito relaxed as he leaned on Three. Three was forced to stand upright at first by Four, but resumed her natural hunched state when she looked away. Decadus stood rigidly with his arms behind his back, smiling at the camera. He relished having to be in such an uncomfortable position. Two and Cent lovingly gazed into each other’s eyes as they held hands. One and Brother One sat side by side towards the front. Brother One rested his hands in his lap, while One rested hers on little Gabrielle. And lastly, Zero took a comfortable seat on Mikhail’s tail, which was spread in front of One and Brother One. She couldn't stand just looking at the device, so she looked off into the distance.

With a click, the photo was taken.

“Oh thank goodness you’re back!” Ozpin said with a sigh of relief.

“What’s wrong? I was only gone for a week.” she said.

“Noo, you’re a daaaay late. You, need a tardy slip now, hehe.” Qrow chuckled drunkenly. No surprise there.

“Odd… Well, I’m alright. And you’ll be happy to know I learned much, despite the ‘complications.’”

“Complications?”

“Well, not exactly complications, but I’ll fill you in later.”

“As long as you’re safe and sound then.” Oz says as he takes a sip of his drink. “Hopefully James returns on time then.”

“Oh, General Ironwood joined after all?” Glynda asked.

“Yes, sent to find out about the technology of that world.”

“I’m sure he learned much then. It’s surprisingly advanced.”

“Hey, G, what’d ya bring me?” Qrow asked as he noticed souvenirs.

“A kick to the dick.” she growled.

“Damn, okay, nevermind then.” he said, astonished, and went back to nursing the bottle.

“Sorry.” she apologized. “I haven’t been around the most… I've been with some people with colorful language recently. But if you must know what I brought, these are gifts from them.” A bag of beautiful seashells from Five, the centaur dish recipe from Four, a well-crafted doll from Three, a hand-knit sweater from Two, the daggers from One, a sheet of clean, exquisite fabric from Brother One, and Zero’s sword. In a pocket, she held a few thank you letters.

It’s not like I need it anymore. Just hurry up and take the damn thing already. Zero told her when she refused at first. She wasn’t going to argue after that. It was a very beautiful sword, after all.

Before they could even react, James was before them.

“Hello James h─” Ozpin paused to stare at the sword he was holding. “What is that?” he glared at the thing just as it soaked up the last of the blood. “Oh gods what happened to you!?” he cried out, just noticing the broken arm.

“I’ve been through worse.” He said as he let go of the handle and let the sword fall to the ground. He then walked over to Qrow. “Gimme.” he ordered as he snatched the bottle out of his hand.

“Hey! You’ve crossed a liiine Jimmy!” Qrow slurred as he launched himself at the cyborg. Ironwood easily dodged it and downed the thing as Qrow lay on the floor. With a groan, he tossed the bottle onto the couch, and wiped his mouth.

“General...”

“Yes, miss Goodwitch?”

“What is that in your hair?” she asked cautiously.

“Hmm? Oh, this?” he said as he held the flower out in front of him. “Hmm, a Lunar Tear. Pretty flower, aren’t they? They’re bioluminescent, and rather rae=re. I imagine they would be very popular and sell well.”

“Wooowwwwww, only one, Jimbooo? Welllll I got four!” Qrow exclaimed as he pulled four crumpled flowers out of his pocket and threw them up in the air. With deadly precision, she sent the Dragon-Bone daggers to kill the flowers.

“Umm, Miss Goodwitch? Don’t you think that was─”

“Sing.” she ordered as she pointed Zero’s Sword at them.

“Glynda, are you alright?” Oz asked with concern evident in his voice.

“Yes. I know what I’m doing. You’ll just have to trust me.” she reassures him, not taking her eyes of Ironwood for a moment. “Now sing! Or you won’t be half human for much longer.”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.” He belts out fearfully.

“Ooo, Jimmy can sing!” Qrow teases.

“You’re clear.” she states. Ironwood lets out a sigh of relief as she makes her way to Qrow.

“Start singing little birdie.” Glynda commands Qrow as she points the tip of the sword to his neck. He gulps.

“a, b, c, d, e, f, g!” Qrow screeches out.

“Dear gods, enough!” she yells as she covers her ears. “You’re clear! You’re clear!”

“H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P!” He screeches even louder.

“I will kill you to shut you up!” she tells him as she pushes the sword towards his neck. Qrow giggles as he finishes and she pulls away the sword.

“Those things,” she says, pointing towards the Lunar Tears stabbed into the wall, “are related to The Flower, a force of magic that not even you, or Salem could compare to.” Glynda tells Ozpin.

While Ozpin tends to Ironwood’s arm, she begins her story, from the forest and Sleeping beauty, to meeting One, introducing aura to that world, learning from her library, meeting the other intoners, and finally facing the Flower.

“What, the fuck?” Qrow commented as she finished.

“Correct me if I’m wrong. The most powerful magic in the world is a song.” Ironwood said as he furrowed his brows

“The Song.” she corrected.

“And it was granted by a flower.”

“The Flower.” she corrects once more.

“And The Flower, which only a dragon can kill, granted it to them so they could corrupt and destroy humanity.”

“Yes.” she confirms.

“Sure. Why not.” James sighs. “Salem’s pretty much doing the same thing, just less convoluted.”

“Mind control, angels, creating life, creating monsters, a near unstoppable disease, a pact with god, it is a truly fearful power you were dealing with.”

“Well, I took care of it with some friends. Oh yeah, and I ran into Tyrian. I told him to send Salem our regards.” She smiles.

“Nice.” he says as he hi-fives her.

“How about you Qrow? What’s your story?” James asks out of curiosity.

“Don’t remember all of it, and no, it’s not because of drinking.” he responds.

“There was an error in the magic, I believe, and it split his consciousness across multiple timelines.” Ozpin clarifies.

“Lucky me, huh?”

“Hmm, another error in the magic is probably why your arm didn’t return as it should have.”

“That portal isn’t sounding as safe as you made it out to be, Oz.” Qrow said, now more sober than before.

“In my defense, magic is fickle. Well, you all won’t have to return there ever again at least.” Ozpin stated. They all seemed a bit sad at the realization.

“That world, I know that it was pretty messed up, but it wasn’t so bad.” Qrow says. An image of Two floating books, two children, and two teens pops into his head, as does another image. This one has the two teens and the white book sitting around a campfire with a floating, clothed skeleton thing. It didn’t seem worth mentioning.

“I’ll agree with you there. It was nice, overall… Mostly. I think I’d go again, given the chance.” James said as he lay on a makeshift bed. Thinking of all the people he met, it was a blessing, but thinking of that last shade…

“It was an interesting experience, to say the least, but by no means a bad one.” Glynda comments. She thinks back to the ones she met on her journey, from the program Sleeping Beauty, to the Intoner family. “By no means a bad one.” she repeated at a slower pace. She took out a picture, to reminisce, to make sure she would always remember.

#The Remnat Branches #glynda goodwitch #rwby #nier #drakengard 3 #CH. 3 - Would You Like To Hear A Song? Or Perhaps See A Pretty Flower?#Yeah #im just gonna do the series like this now. way quicker.#I still really love how i had the intoner sisters interact #maybe ill adapt it into a fic that can stand alone from this someday #14.3k words

5 notes · View notes

redditnosleep · 6 years

Text

My Son Won’t Take Off His Halloween Costume

by IamHowardMoxley

Being poor is tough, but it hits especially hard during the holidays. Halloween is the first reminder that you don't have the disposable income for your kid's happiness.

I took Austin down to a local thrift store we visited frequently. They had a rack of reject costumes from supermarkets, a few cheap latex masks, corny novelty party hats and one very well made green and yellow bellied dragon costume that looked like it could fit Austin and Austin only, sitting alone next to a golf bag full of hockey sticks.

It was painstaking detailed- it had scales that actually shimmered, interlocked in tiny emerald shields, each with their own special symbol. Hard like crystal, lighter than glass or even plastic. It was cute enough to make adults smile and remarkable enough to finally make my poor son the envy of all the rich kids at his school.

My son jumped into it without waiting. I appreciated the workmanship on the rubber-soled feet, individual fingers with claws and lifelike tail and jaw. No stitches, no tag. Custom hand-made. Austin took the head of the dragon and slid it over his own, his bright smile eclipsed by the black mesh inside the dragon's open mouth. He begged me to get it. It wasn't cheap, at least for us, but well worth it for Austin.

Austin wore the costume all day from then on. That was the...27th, when he went to his first friend's costume party of many. He was the hit of every one, so it was no wonder why he loved the dragon so much that he wanted to sleep in it. Seeing as how it was one giant plush and armored sleeping bag, we agreed. It seemed like we kinda had to- the kid did all his chores and homework in that costume as if he was trying to buy a favor with us BEFORE he asked if he could keep the costume on. We said yes, even at school he could wear it until Halloween.

Austin's school is very open minded. The students loved the costume as much as everybody else; even the teacher was fine with letting Austin keep it on during school hours. It was the first week were Austin the Dragon didn't get in trouble; Austin even even got a rare "A" on his spelling test during the week before Halloween. He ate his veggies and brushed his teeth through a slot in the mesh that was hard to see at times, and it sounded like he was showering every night without us needing to tell him to. Why not let the kid have some fun?

Austin's last Halloween is my bet for the best Halloween nights any kid has ever had. Every house was its own little amusement park of treats and decorations, almost all of them for Austin the Dragon, a legend that every kid spread at school. It seemed that every adult played along as knights or maidens or queens and even some of the other kids copied his costume, leading a band of dragons to terrorize the neighborhoods looking for chocolate late into the weekday night.

What we feared would happen came true on the 1st of November- Austin refused to get out of the costume.

He was never a shrieker or a kicker before, but he was when my wife or I tried to unzip the back or reach for the head of the dragon. After an hour of arguing and tears, we finally caved and sent our kid out to school looking like a fool.

When my wife called me that afternoon saying it was the school and that it was an emergency, all I could imagine was a group of bullies beating up my son in his costume. I rushed all the way to the school nurse’s room, where I saw my son on his stomach, laying on the reclined bed, still in the dragon. The nurse told us that a kickball had flown over the fence and bounced off a truck's bumper, launching the ball onto a lamp post and then to the back on my son's head as he was walking out of lunch. A strange event, a stroke of back luck. Path of the storm and all that. The nurse did have good news- said the helmet inside the costume may have saved his life, as she could still feel a pulse even with the costume on. Austin was unconscious and may have been hemorrhaging. We needed to get it off of him.

The helmet was stuck tight. So were the side and bottom zippers. The nurse had to ask a custodian for a pair of pliers to get a better grip on the zipper tabs. The nurse clamped onto it and tugged. My wife helped her. I should have left it alone, but I helped the two of them. With all three of us straining, the zipper peeled down slowly like an embedded knife drawing through a torso with sound that reminded me of wet wood splitting. The space above the zipper split open to a deep crimson gash flashing bones, muscles and organs. My wife screamed as the nurse yanked up the zipper up alone, closing the oozing, bleeding zippers as best she could as we picked him up.

We followed our son in the facility school van / emergency ambulance to the nearest E.R and waited until dark, until 2 women and 2 men entered our son's E.R wearing medical medical scrubs that were bright white while the others wore powder green. They each carried an off, official kind of walk, kind of a march with matching bright blue soled nurses shoes. They looked...odd. Like actors in a play. But as out of place as they seemed, this new crew gave my wife and I new hope. 10 minutes later, two of them walked out, one carrying the costume of the dragon, the other the head. One said to the other “Just a little more time and his meal would have been done. Shame. Still, I can't believe they let one of us get all the way to a thrift store...” as they walked off down the hall, ignoring us. My wife followed them while I waited by the door for the other two. When the 3 of them left, a man exited the E.R in a hurry. The last women spoke in a strange accent to the man that left, like she learned English from a speech-bot.

“You can't. Do that. Here.” The man's voice was quick and sleek.

“Rules don't apply here, maneater. This is just the cattle pen.” I physically stopped the man with my arm. His brown eyes ruffled and shot down at me in indignant fury as I asked “Do you know anything about my son Austin..?”

“Why would I know anything about your son?” The “doctor” wore one of those metal reflective disks on his head and a stethoscope that belonged on a TV set. His mask hid everything but those angry eyes. He smelled like gasoline made out of limes. I asked him what he was doing in the E.R with that group, and who he was.

“Do you think I wear this mask just to advertise who I am?” he broke the contact with my hand and walked out of sight. I was so pissed I almost followed him before my wife running came back to me, breathless. She said those “doctors” stole the costume by walking out of the hospital, getting into a parked car and driving away. We came back to E.R and found the group standing outside, waiting for us. The doctors tried to explain that they didn't know what to do, as the costume appeared to be fused with Austin's skin, and no matter where they cut, they cut into Austin. Nobody knew who the group of strange 4 were or how they got the costume off. My wife and I pushed our way in past the barricade of bodies to see the half-digested bloody mess from Hell all over the operating table and room. In the mess was Austin's watch, pickled and shriveled, like it had been sitting in stomach for nearly a week.

I ran from the E.R so quickly that my shoes slipped off halfway through the sprint. The first thing my eyes landed on was the blue bathroom symbol, and I bolted there to throw up and have my breakdown.

The men's room door was propped open, and I had no shoes left to make a sound. That's why the arrogant doctor who blew past me didn't stop pissing- he didn't hear me or see me. He was was standing at one of the toilet stalls with his bright blue soled shoes at one of the stalls, standing half in and out between an open door, the front of his head out of view. I saw what looked like his deflated face and neck resting on his shoulders like a coat hood not in use. He then grabbed his own face with fake lips and empty eye holes and pulled it out of view into the stall as he put it on. I heard what might have been a zipper closing up, and I swore I saw his body jerk up a bit, like he just noticed I was standing there, watching everything. I bolted out, back to the arms of my crying wife. We called the staff and we waited for the man in the men's room to exit. When no one did, we searched the place and found nothing but the toilet he was using, filled with blood and half-digested chunks of bone.

#creepy #horror story #monsters #halloween #author: IamHowardMoxley

39 notes · View notes

ancientbooshartifacts · 5 years

Text

In the Band

Author: Accio_arse

Year: 2008

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: Howard/Rudi

Howard was, quite frankly, astounded. Here he was- Howard T.J. Moon, easily the greatest jazz player Yorkshire had ever seen, a legend in his own right- and he was on the verge of getting booted out of his own band. It was pathetic. He, he constantly reminded himself, was the one who'd come up here to play jazz in the first place, he was the one who'd started the bloody band! And it had been fantastic; he and Mrs. Gideon had been the king and queen of the Blue Aubergine. Together they had enraptured crowds, spun many-layered bebop duets- they were the toast of the town. And then had come Rudi. Rudi bloody Van Di-bloody-Sarnio, with his ridiculous Afro and his pompous, pretentious dress, and his door. Who had a door in their head, anyway? Howard had scoffed at Rudi when he had said, in that slow, measured way of his that he had gained the door because he was wise, that it allowed him to see beyond. Humph. And humph a-bloody-gain. Howard was wise! Howard was a guru; people climbed mountains to see Howard and get his advice on life. Or they would have, if Howard had lived on top of a mountain. The point was- Howard didn't need a door to be wise, he didn't need to put on airs and affectations. He was Howard Moon, and there was a simple truth to him that people appreciated. Except, apparently, Mrs. Gideon. For the instant Rudi had come swanning into their lives with his idiotic, affected 'rustic wisdom' and his jazz fusion guitar, she had attached herself to him like a particularly clingy limpet and hadn't looked at Howard since. She couldn't even remember his name anymore. And Howard couldn't lie; his music had suffered. But should it not have? Jazz, after all, was Howard's heart and soul, and between Mrs. Gideon and Rudi, both heart and soul had been fairly thoroughly trampled upon. He sighed, sitting at the empty bar, and ran a hand over the top of his trumpet case. The name label on it was now curling away at the corners, and unless you smoothed it out, it read Howard T.J. Moo. Moo, Howard thought bitterly, That's all I am. A great bloody useless cow He'd tried to plead his case with Mrs. Gideon, had begged her (in a dignified, gentlemanly fashion, of course) to let him stay in the band, to remember all the good times they'd had together, the music they'd made, but to no avail. Granted, he might have chosen a bad time to talk to her, as she had been practising scales at the time, taking calculated swigs of whiskey in between arpeggios to get the right 'cigarettes and booze' quality to her voice, and hadn't even noticed Howard standing there. Once he'd finished his beautifully constructed monologue on why he was an integral part of the group, she'd merely looked up from the piano, blinked at him, and inquired politely 'Excuse me, do I know you?' He groaned at the memory. The only option left then, was Rudi. And Rudi had no particular fondness for Howard. Not that he ever acted spiteful or nasty towards him- he really didn't act like much of anything towards him. Howard, to Rudi, was simply a part of the scenery. But, on reflection, that was worse than outright malice would have been. Howard bristled. How on earth was he supposed to convince him that he was worthy to stay in the band? The situation seemed utterly hopeless, and Howard slumped at the bar, listlessly picking at a sticky spot on the counter with one fingernail.

Howard was not allowed to stew in his tortured self-pity for long though, for the faint sound of cloth rustling against cloth came from the back of the bar, and a voice echoed behind him.

'What is this, Howard Moon? You look like a man sunk deep within the depths of despair. A man, I daresay, in sore need of advice. Perhaps I can be of assistance.'

The voice was deep and mysterious, and it lisped slightly on its s's and t's. Rudi. Speak of the devil. Stiffly, Howard lifted his head up off the bar and gave the other man a quick, obviously feigned smile.

'Despair?' He forced a chuckle. 'No sir, not me! I was simply resting my head. Thinking deep thoughts, you know how it is.'

'Ahh.' Rudi nodded magisterially, and his afro wobbled precariously. He looked up at it in irritation and steadied it with a hand.That taken care of, he turned back to Howard. 'Thought, yes.' He intoned, 'That force which sustains us all, yet which we so often take for granted.'

He stared impressively off into space for a moment, and Howard had to restrain the urge to slap him. Instead, mindful of the fact that he somehow had to ingratiate himself to this infuriating man, he nodded, raising his eyebrows in agreement.

'Very true, sir.' He said. When Rudi added nothing else, Howard cleared his throat and swivelled 'round on his barstool until he could casually prop an elbow up on the counter and face Rudi.

'Say,' he began, ever so casually, 'I actually was looking for you earlier, Rudi. I, ah, had something I wanted to talk to you about.'

'Oh?' The other man looked intrigued, and Howard was about to elaborate when Rudi held up a quelling hand.

'No! Do not tell me. I know all things!'

Howard eyed him dubiously. Know all things, my arse, he thought, but once again, he kept his thoughts to himself. Rudi's face was screwed up in thought, and after a long moment, he snapped his fingers.

'Aha! I know what it is you seek, Howard Moon- you wish to know the secrets of eternal life, for I have seen that as you age, you will only grow more and more hideous-'

'Oi!' Howard interrupted him irritably. 'There's no need for that. And that wasn't what I wanted to know.'

Rudi looked terribly disappointed. 'Oh.'

‘What I wanted to talk about,’ Howard continued, picking up a bit of steam now, ‘was the band. What’s this about you and Mrs. Gideon chucking me, mmm? You’ve got talent, sir, I won’t deny it, but to come up and usurp my place- I, who founded the band in the first place on nothing more than a dream, sir- and a burning passion for jazz- that is bad form. Decidedly bad form.’

He halted and drew a breath, forcing himself to calm down somewhat. He was supposed to be ingratiating himself with Rudi, not picking a fight with the man. Howard cleared his throat and flashed a tiny, apologetic smile. ‘What I mean to say,’ he said, ‘Is that I would very much appreciate it, Rudi, if you and Mrs. Gideon would reconsider. There is no band without Howard Moon, sir, and you will learn that quickly if you get rid of me.’

‘Hmm.’ Rudi stroked his chin pensively, tapping a fingernail against his sizeable front teeth. ‘Perhaps,’ he said eventually, ‘Perhaps I will talk to the lady. And I myself would certainly be willing to listen to any arguments you might have.’

Oh, thank you! Howard was about to say- only in a way which seemed a little less desperate- but one long brown finger snapped up to silence him, and Rudi fixed tiny, intense eyes on him.

‘If,’ he continued simply, ‘you kiss my balls.’

Howard gaped. He knew what this was; this was one of those goddamn bloody tests that Rudi was so fond of- the flute test, or the pancake test, or sellotape test, or the Finnish Language Efficiency Test, or whatever. Howard knew the drill; he knew how these went, and he was just about to give the expected response, to say that there was no way he was going to kiss Rudi Van DiSarnio’s balls, when a novel thought struck him with all the force of a weighted cricket bat.

What would Rudi do if he said yes? The man would be completely unprepared for the sheer, raw sexual power that was Howard Moon. That in itself might be enough to convince him to keep Howard in the band. And Howard... well, it was shameful. Yes, it was very shameful, but he would be getting one up on Rudi by doing this! And it wasn’t as if he was whoring himself out, anyway; it was his own decision. This in mind, he looked Rudi straight in the eyes and said:

‘Very well, sir.’

And just as he’d predicted, Rudi’s eyes went momentarily wide, and he began to stutter wildly.

‘I did not mean- that is- Rudi Van DiSarnio is a man above the pleasures of the flesh! I am of the order of the psychedelic monks, I do not-’

Howard smirked at him, now feeling much more sure of himself- he had never kissed a man’s balls, but it was a decidedly satisfying feeling, having this much power over another person- and slid off his stool to the ground before Rudi. The other man fell suddenly and conspicuously silent, and Howard heard an intake of breath above him. He focussed on the drape of Rudi’s robe before him, and lifted the hem, stroking fingers over the fabric. It was deceptively light, and almost slick against the pads his fingers, like silk. He raised an eyebrow up at Rudi.

‘Nice dress.’

‘It is not a dress!’ Rudi snapped, ‘It is the sacred robe of the psychedelic monks.’ The retort lacked its usual vigour, however.Indeed, it sounded decidedly strained, and looking up, Howard saw that Rudi was biting his lip and the handle on his door was rattling, as though it had been locked, and someone was trying desperately to get out.

And with that, he threw the hem of the robe over his head and ducked underneath. It suddenly felt curiously as though he’d entered another room entirely, centred bizarrely around a pair of dark legs; everything was dim and vaguely purple, and the air smelt of sweat and musk and man. Howard wrinkled his nose. The only problem, though, was that Howard couldn’t really see much, and he didn’t fancy having a go at another bloke’s bits when he couldn’t see them, so he ran a hand up one of Rudi’s legs until he simply ran into what he sought. The thigh muscle gave a great twitch beneath his hand.

And then there- yes indeed, Rudi’s bollocks, and above, the quickly hardening shape of his prick. Hesitantly at first, Howard ran a finger over the shape of them, then stroked with all his fingertips, before cupping the sac, weighing it in his hand. Dark and heavy, fuzzed over with wiry black hair, Howard found that they were not at all unpleasant to the touch; rather, they were warm and soft, and he gave a light squeeze. Above him, he heard Rudi choke out a curse. Trying not to inhale any more of the smell of Rudi’s sweat than he could help, Howard leant up and pressed a soft, close-lipped kiss to the warm, roused skin of them.

There, he thought, I’ve kissed your balls.

But he had the notion that now he’d started the thing, he might as well finish it properly. After all, if Howard Moon was to be a filthy ball-fondler, he was damn well going to be a good one.

He pressed his mouth to Rudi’s bollocks again, but this time he opened his lips and flicked his tongue out, drawing it up and over the heated flesh, drawing a patch of skin between his lips and sucking at it until Rudi was cursing in languages Howard had never even heard of. Again Howard did it, and again, his hands braced on Rudi’s thighs, which shuddered and quaked with the effort of keeping him upright. It was pleasurable in a strangely absorbing way, dragging his tongue over soft skin, sucking and licking everywhere he could reach. Even more enjoyable were the noises Rudi made, the quiver of his body under Howard’s ministrations.

Closer and closer he took him until:

‘Howard!’ Rudi gasped, ‘Remove yourself from under my robe, I’m- fuck- I’m almost-’

And hastily Howard did remove himself, for though he had, not moments before, literally been licking Rudi’s balls, he had no desire to get any of his bodily fluids on him. He straightened awkwardly to see Rudi palming himself desperately through the gorgeous silk of his robe, biting hard at his lip, little grunts escaping from the back of his throat. Howard’s mouth went dry watching him, and a little whimper tripped across his lips.

Suddenly, the door in Rudi’s head flew open and a rapturous cry tore itself from his throat; he surged up onto the balls of his feet and his whole body went rigid for a moment, save for the movement of his hips against his own hand. His face was twisted in ecstasy for one moment, two, three, before he sagged, collapsing against a table, breathing heavily.

‘Howard,’ he murmured, beckoning with a quick curl of two fingers, and Howard- suddenly awkward once again- shuffled over.Rudi let out another grunt, and Howard started when he saw a hand- identical to Rudi’s own- making its way out of the door in his head. It clutched a piece of paper, which Howard took nervously. Rudi smiled a lazy, sated sort of smile at him, and nodded at the paper.

‘Read of the wisdom of the door, Howard Moon.’

The paper crinkled loudly as Howard unfolded it, and once open, large, black-printed words stared back at him: You’re still not in the band. Sorry.

For a moment, Howard didn’t fully process what the paper said, his mind still fogged with what he’d just been doing, what he’d just seen. After that moment passed, however, and the message hit him, he looked at Rudi with renewed loathing.

‘You bastard.’ He said, and punched Rudi full in the face.

All things considered, it’s not really a wonder Howard didn’t play jazz after that.

#the mighty boosh #mighty boosh #boosh #howard moon #mrs.gideon #rudi van disarzio #rudi van disarnio #rudi van disarzio/Howard Moon #rudi/howard

0 notes

asunafairywizardessheart · 7 years

Text

Magic Creatures and Books - Part 1

Klaus/Asana

Requested: Anon.

Summary: Despite being Professors at the academy, their expertise is required on two separate cases for the Ministry. Asana assists Walter and Julius in capturing a wizard selling magical creatures on the black market for dark wizards and Klaus assists Elias and Luca, taking over from his father, to track down a dark wizard using ancient dark magic to commit murder. Though, she might be pregnant with their first child.

There will be a Part 2 to this story, it was getting very long.

Behind him, the refrigerator door closed with a soft thud. Having quietly read through the morning paper and halfway through drafting essays for his classes, a slender arm reached over his shoulder.

“Is this today’s paper?” a sweet voice snapped his concentration.

He broke into a small smile hearing her voice in his ear, “Since when do you read the paper?”

“When a story on my field, taking my interest, is published,” she hinted and gave his cheek a quick peck with her puckered lips.

Of course, they were married, the sixth-year anniversary a shy two months away, and were now employees of the academy where they first met and owned a home in the neighbouring city. However, Asana had only been in her positon for the last five months after being recruited by the Headmaster to take over the classes of a retiring teacher, transferring from the Ministry as a veterinarian and specialist consultant to magic creatures. Here, she taught beginner and advanced classes in magical creature ecology, magic cooking, medical pharmaceutics and potions and taught special classes like spell singing and advanced time wizardry.

At Klaus’ request, he and Asana shared an office. When reaching over his shoulder to steal the paper from his desk, she balanced a slice of chocolate cake on a small plate in her other hand but Klaus gently caught her arm before she ran off to her side of the desk, the polished oak and heavy desks backing onto each other in the centre of the room, “What?” her lips broke into a guilty smile.

“What do you mean ‘what’?” he had latched his hand onto her arm holding the plated slice of cake, “Is that my slice of cake you are stealing?” her face contorting into a guilty smile confessing to her crime, “You ate yours during class or so I hear?”

She had a certain adorableness to her expression Klaus could not bring himself to become mad at her, “…Pretty please?” she begged him to let her have it, “I will make you another cake. In fact, my afternoon class is magic cooking and I plan to teach them how to make a medicinal cake.”

“I am not sick,” he slowly pulled her body closer to his to the point where she hovered over his lap, “My mind has not forgotten our conversation this morning,” his hands collected the plate from her hands where he set it down on the surface of his desk.

“Klaus, I promise you I am feeling fine and I don’t need to see a doctor.”

“It is because of what happened this morning that you have an appetite that won’t stop today,” he argued, his hands skimming up the side of her body through her figure-hugging sophisticated blue dress and resting at the sides of her waist, “You threw up yesterday too. Are you going to pretend it is not happening?”

His strong arms pulled her body closer to his, her legs standing between his and her balance becoming wobbly where she minded where she stood to not step on his shoes where she would likely trip. Placing her hands on his shoulders to maintain her balance, she giggled at his needless worry, “I appreciate you thinking of me, darling, but I promise you I am feeling fine.”

“I am not going to be satisfied until you see a doctor.”

Finding she was not going to find a way out of this conversation, she opted to compromise, “Fine but on one condition,” she proposed, her smile stretching across her face as he looked quite adorable in his pleas for her to go consult a doctor.

Intrigued, he could tell where this proposal was going, “What would that be?” he wondered, his money betting on the cake he confiscated from her hands a moment ago.

Those large and round pink eyes of hers darted to his left, “You give me that slice of cake.”

Her pink eyes sparkled like little jewels from the excitement of tasting the sweet chocolaty sponge of the cake and the chocolate and vanilla icing layered across the top of her bakery-level pastry. Having her in his embrace and the beauty of her adorable face made it hard for him to let her go without a kiss but he had a counter-offer, “Hmm…I was really looking forward to eating it but I suppose you can have it if you pay for it.”

“What! But, I agreed to go to the doctor!”

“Why should you have to hustle a slice of cake from me to make that happen?” Klaus counter-argued and heard her adorable groan, “Haha, you’re like a child who has been told no.”

“I am not a child!” she denied, averting her gaze, “…I’m hungry because I threw up my breakfast this morning, remember?”

“Normal people go to the doctor, Asana.”

“Ugh, whatever. I will make the appointment this afternoon if it will put your mind at ease.”

“Thank you, it does put my mind at ease,” his smile stretching into a larger grin, “Now, I promise you can have my slice of cake if you pay for it,” he pointed to his lips.

“You should have said you wanted a kiss to begin with,” she laughed.

Brushing her brown hair to the side with her finger, her face hovered just above his as she bent down to pay for her cake with a sweet kiss on his lips, “Paid,” she said and went to reach for the plate.

The kiss left him unsatisfied that he stopped her hand from taking the cake, “Not even close,” he smiled, “You can do better than that, right? After all, we are married.”

She kissed him again but it still was not enough. “Try again.” She couldn’t help but feel her body growing hot with embarrassment and her lips uncontrollably curling into a huge smiling.

Composing herself, she deepened the kiss. “Almost.”

His arms cheekily pulled her over onto his lap as her lips touched his again, her little tongue flicking at his lips. “Getting there,” he muttered between kisses and parted his lips to feel her tongue slither between them and map his mouth. An appreciative but faint moan tickling in his throat. The kiss lasted several minutes until she eventually pulled away to catch her breath, “Can I have it now?”

“I suppose but if you don’t make that appointment today I will do it for you and drag you there if I have to,” he threatened while pushing the plated cake towards her and smiling up at her.

Removing her body from his lap, she took the paper and the cake to her side of the desk. Quickly, she opened the large newspaper over her desk and took a large bite from the cake at the same time, her hands flicking to a top news story of an urgent plea published by the Ministry. “Huh!” the news surprised her.

His curiosity peaked about the story which had her entranced but he could guess it since he had already read through it twice, “I take it you are reading the story on that famous veterinarian and tamer who used to work at the Ministry? I don’t know how true the rumours are though.”

“Yeah,” she bobbed her head to confirm his assumption, “It’s crazy to think a respected man in his field would abuse his position to treat magical creatures with such unforgiveable cruelty.”

“That is if the rumours are true, don’t jump to conclusions,” Klaus commented. “No names are mentioned in the article to make a clear judgement ourselves and he had not heard anything specific from his father, agents or other teachers.

“Well, I know who they are investigating because it was a direct result of a misconduct report I filed with my supervisors,” she admitted to Klaus, and tilted her head at him knowing he had met the man once during an event, “Do you remember Edric Vitkevich?”

Hearing the man’s name made Klaus twitch with despise of the man but he kept his calm, “You mean that creep near the same age as my brother who continuously attempted to sleep with you at that fundraiser to protect endangered creatures, even though he knew who you were?”

“That’s him,” she smiled, “He’s being investigated and he has since done a runner on the Ministry. Does that not incriminate him as being guilty of the crimes he is being investigated for?”

Klaus needed to be filled in if he was going to have a fair comment on the case, “What is he being investigated for anyway to be facing serious charges? I understand he’s a respected doctor in your field, doesn’t make sense why he would destroy his reputation if he has nothing to hide.”

“He was originally investigated for professional misconduct against the creatures he was assigned to be taking care of,” she explained, “However, it turned into something bigger than a simple misconduct case. The Magical Creatures Division were trying to stop the exportation of living creatures or magical creature parts, like horns and scales, things like that, from going to the black market for dark wizards. Apparently, the supplier is allegedly him.”

“Those are some serious charges,” Klaus commented, “Why would he do something pathetically stupid?”

“Money,” Asana confidently revealed the motive, “Living magical creatures and body parts, or even harvested magic, of magical creatures sells for extremely high prices on the black market and can be used for some really dark crimes.”

“You worked with him, what do you think?” he asked, “I mean it’s a heap leap from professional misconduct to supplying and supporting dark magical practices.”

She had to think carefully, “Well, I filed the report because of the way he treated the creatures we were assigned to help. When he was working at the hospital governed by the Ministry, I noticed he was misdiagnosing creatures’ illnesses and doubted his testing methods.”

“What did you doubt?”

“Specifically, his handling of the creatures and the misdiagnosis’ leading to the wrong medications being administered to the creatures,” she replied, “After checking with the other staff, they told me he had been reported several times, some were sexual harassment complaints and the others were for misdiagnosis and malpractice. I asked a favour of Julius and then requested a formal investigation after he had misdiagnosed a winged rabbit.”

“An illness common in winged rabbits is hepatic coccidiosis. It is a disease caused by parasites in the intestine and can be contagious through urine, faeces, shared bedding and water,” she remembered back to this particular case, “Typically to diagnosis coccidiosis you would have to run a stool test but he had not done one to determine.”

She still had Klaus’ attention as she continued, “I organised the test myself to rule out the illness and the test came back clear of hepatic coccidiosis. In fact, he had no other symptoms besides diarrhoea so I spoke to the rabbit myself and he told me he devoured an entire chocolate cake.”

“In other words he had a severe stomach ache?” Klaus concluded.

She nodded, “When I confronted Edric about it he laughed it off as being an accident but when your brother told me of the other misdiagnosed creatures I began to see a pattern. It was not an unknown fact, either, that living and deceased creatures were going missing from the rehabilitation centre and morgue of the hospital. So, I asked the Ministry to launch an official inquiry into his professional conduct.”

“Could he just be incompetent with his job?”

“At the end of the day, it is my decision to determine if he is fit for the job. The falls on the Ministry’s discretion,” Asana replied, “Human resources took the case and not long after the inquiry was launched he resigned from his position and transferred to a private research and medical facility for magic creatures. Though, the Ministry kept a close eye on him.”

A moment of silence ensued and after several minutes she looked up to Klaus, “…I did the right thing, right?” she asked, afraid of how her actions might have been perceived by her colleagues, “I only did it because I was concerned for the creatures coming into our care.”

“You protected the creatures which came into your care from a person, who employed to replenish their health, was putting their lives at risk and could have provided the key information for the Ministry to stop the illegal trading of our endangered creatures going into the wrong hands,” the sharp tip of his pen scratched against the white page of the essay before his eyes as he spoke to her and raised his head to gaze softly across to her, “You did the right thing, who cares about perception.”

Several minutes of silence passed but during that moment, his mind was reminded of how she mentioned a few women had filed sexual harassment complaints against the same man who had tried to sleep with his wife at a fundraiser. His mind would not be put at ease without asking her if he tried any moves on her. Looking across at her, he kept his jealous thoughts in check and asked her directly.

“You mentioned he had been reported several times for sexual harassment,” his topic of conversation had he raising her head despite the chocolate crumbs falling from her mouth, “He…didn’t try anything on you, did he?”

She brushed the chocolate crumbs caught on the side of her mouth off but they fell to her desk, “No, I would never let him. I’m a married woman with only one man on her mind,” her words were honest as she cleaned up the crumbs off her desk, “Besides, after the fundraiser I think he got the picture.”

Watching her adorably clean herself up he began to chuckle, “Well, the further he is from you the better. I would never be happy if another man saw you the way you are now,” he pointed to the tip of her nose.

“Huh?” she touched the tip of her nose.

His teasing laughter rumbled in the pit of his stomach with his smile stretching across his face. Putting her finger to the tip of her nose, she felt something smooth and wet cover the fingertip. Her cheeks turned a slight of shade of embarrassed pink as she spotted the chocolate icing on her finger and used a tissue to wipe the icing from her nose, “Is it gone?”

He laughed at her again, “Sometimes I wonder if I have a wife or a child,” he rose from his chair to move his body around to her side of the desk, “You have some right here,” he poked her cheek, “And here,” and poked her chin.

“Ah!” she went to wipe her face but Klaus stopped her, “Klaus?”

“Allow me,” he insisted, trapping her within her office chair, “I don’t want any man to see you being this cute,” he whispered and moved his face closer to lick up the icing smeared across her cheek.

Feeling his body close to hers already ignited her heart beat into a slow drumming but her self-control was fading as she felt his tongue clean up the icing smeared across her cheek and chin, “Klaus…,” she knew this was not the time or the place to be engaging in such activity but she made no move to stop his trail of open mouth kisses going down her neck to her chest, “…Should we be doing this here? Someone could walk in.”

“We have a spare lesson next and I wanted to play with you more this morning.”

Her giggles soon turned into a gasp of pleasure when she felt his hand glide up her thigh but they shouldn’t be doing something this naughty in case a student or the Headmaster came into the room, “We are at work but I promise tonight you can have as much of me as you want.”

“Your heart and mind are saying two different things,” he teased her with his trademark smirk but encouraged her to give into her desire by pressing his lips against hers to clean the chocolate icing left on the lining of her delicate pink lips.

“Mnm!” her faint moan was swallowed by his kiss but she pushed him away. “We can’t, not here,” she reached forward to press her lips onto his, “As much as I want to, we can’t but…,” she kissed him again, “I promise you can do whatever you want to me later when we are at home.”

Her words set a fire to his mind, “Anything, huh?”

His frightening smile made her heart pound in faster beat than before, “What are you thinking of doing to me?” she sounded terrified.

“Why ruin the surprise?” he kissed her lips one last time and pulled his body away from hers, “Be sure to finish work on time today, Bunnyhead,” he bobbed his finger on her nose.

“Oh,” her heart skipped a beat half from fear and half from excitement, “Be nice to me.”

“You said I can do anything you can’t take it back,” his voice echoed from behind her by the stove, “Let’s say, thank goodness tomorrow is the weekend because you are going to be mine all night.”

The sound of the kettle being filled with water did not settle her racing heart but it invited a change of conversation, “If you are having a cup of tea, I would like a cup too,” hopefully a warm cup of Klaus’ delicious tea would ease her racing heart.

Folding the newspaper, she tossed the paper to the side of her desk to pick up where she had left her research into the study of impacts affecting the unicorns of the country and ways to enhance their population numbers. However, before she could even start a heavy and loud knock on their door distracted her from her task.

Waiting for the water to boil in the teapot, Asana smirked at him, “Told you,” she whispered as he crossed the room, walking behind her figure to answer the door.

“Be quiet,” he groaned at her quietly and reached for the door knob.

Pulling the door inwards, two familiar faces greeted him on the other side, “Father, Headmaster,” his father’s presence only raised further questions and Asana turned her head to wave at the men on the other side of the door. “To what do we owe this visit?”

No smiles etched upon the faces of the other two men as they invited themselves into the office. “I apologise for coming by so soon and without any notice but I need both of you to help out at the Ministry,” his father wasted no time in getting to the point of his visit. “Don’t worry about your classes, I already discussed the circumstances with Randolph.”

Randolph had his arms folded across his chest but his usual cheery smile had disappeared behind his serious expression, “The Prefects are already preparing to take over both of your afternoon classes.”

While their names were already volunteered to take the job, Klaus and Asana exchanged curious glances trying to gauge what dangerous job they were being told to take on Walter’s recommendation, “Before we go anywhere, mind filling us in on the case we are being told to do?” Klaus prompted and closing his door for privacy.

“It sounds too serious for us to go in blindly,” Asana supported her husband’s prompt for answers to suffice their curious minds.

Walter nodded and pointed to the teapot, “Were you making a cup of tea?”

“Did you want one too Headmaster?”

“Sure, your tea is always delicious Klaus,” his trademark charismatic smile curled across his face again.

Several minutes of silence passed between them as the tension briefly left the room only to return to the original point of the unexpected visit and recruitment for their assistance on this complex case. “How is your research coming along?” Walter was reading over Asana’s shoulder, “This is a different paper than what you were working on during the holidays?”

“Oh, that was to determine a formula to create a new vaccine to prevent the spread of Anthrakitis, a vaccine I am still perfecting,” she explained, “But, I am revisiting research on the impacts of unicorns in our country and possible ways to enhance their numbers.”

“I see,” Walter nodded but had only a limited knowledge regarding magical creatures, “Well, I hope I will not take you away from your important research for too long.”

Klaus stirred the four cups of tea behind her desk, “That depends on what kind of case you are having us working, Father. You haven’t told us anything about the case,” he turned around and moved a few steps forward to place her hot cup on her desk and handed his father his, lastly the Headmaster sitting on the sofa.

Appreciative words were spoken but Walter began to speak, “Asana, how much do you know about Edric Vitkevich?” he took a slight sip from his porcelain cup, his chapped lips only just touching the edges in a trained eloquent movement, “I understand you were the one who asked for the initial investigation into his misconduct and malpractice when he worked at the Ministry’s hospital?”

His question surprised Asana with her head tilting to the side in confusion, “Why are you dealing with a magical creatures’ case and not the division?” she asked him.

“Your original inquiry has gone missing and the chief suspects someone within the division could be corrupted to help Edric or is involved with the creatures going missing?” he assumed, “Hence, this case has been passed over to me but I am currently short staffed.”

She thought hard and clicked her fingers, “Julius should have a copy of the original report because I went to him for help when I was suspecting Edric of misconduct. He might still have it in his filing cabinet because I know he likes to keep a record.”

“It’s been stolen. He checked,” Walter said, “This is where I need your help, Asana.”

“With what?”

“To find Edric,” Walter concluded, “Specifically, to help locate magical creatures that have gone missing from shelters and hospitals over the recent months. Several endangered species are going missing from forests too. We need to find out why and we have a strong theory this is linked with Mr Vitkevich.”

Asana mulled over the objectives of the case but thought the connections are a fifty to fifty chance of being relative to Edric, “Isn’t that just speculation?” she wondered, but quickly adding a defensive stance to her question, “Does the Ministry have any concrete evidence the creatures disappearing are a result of human interference?”

“As I said, it is a strong theory and one worth pursuing,” his reply was short.

She had already half-heartedly agreed to do the case in her mind but was not a strong person in a fight, “I can treat and tame magical creatures but my fighting skills against a human is beyond my level,” she commented, casting her eyes downward.

A shallow chuckle reverberated from Walter’s throat as the warm tea cleansed his mouth and relaxed his mind putting him in a lighter mood. Silently, he swallowed the black tea, “I have no intentions of putting you in a position as dangerous as fighting against a human but it is unnecessary for you to sell yourself so short when it comes to your magic, my child. Randolph, Klaus and I have nurtured the rare magical gifts which live within you, don’t doubt to turn to them when you need to.”

“He is right,” Randolph nodded along, “Fearing your own power will only make you hesitant to use them. You are a level-headed and mature young lady who follows her own heart, do not allow the fear of using your power prevent you from stopping the darkness which threatens innocent life from flourishing.”

A powerful wizard these days, Asana listened to their wise words and carefully absorbed them in her mind but it did not budge the fear she held within her heart when it came to the rare magical aptitude she possessed. Walter sensed her unwavering anxiety and smiled down at her from where he stood by her desk, “Besides, it should not go to that extent,” he said, “Julius and I will be right beside you and I ensure you that we will protect you. All we need in return is a trusted expert who can assist us with dealing with the creatures since Julius and I primarily deal with dark wizards themselves and not beasts.”

She understood her role in this mission was to tame and treat for any creatures they may find along their investigations into this mystery. His explanation put her mind at ease, “Alright then, will you and Julius explain to me what you know so far when we get to the office?”

“Of course,” though scary by nature, Walter’s natural smile had a charming sophistication expected of a higher society gentleman but he was glad she agreed to help on the case, “Thank you, Asana.”

Listening to the conversation, Klaus cleared his throat of the droplets of tea stuck between going down his throat and down his air pipe and distracted his father’s attention, “By the way you are talking, I am particularly needed on this case but she is my wife and I would rather assist you than stay behind where I am not near her.”

“As your father, I am proud knowing I have raised a gentleman who treats his wife with respect, love and care,” he said after swallowing another warm sip of the black tea, “However, I have another case I want you to lead while we deal with this one.”

After a short silence, Klaus, not offended but anxious about leaving his wife’s side on a potentially dangerous case, disguised his unhappiness from his father, “What case would that be?”

It did not go unnoticed by Walter, “You sound unimpressed with my decision, Klaus.”

“Of course I am,” he wasn’t going to deny he didn’t feel comfortable allowing his wife to be put in a dangerous position, “What husband would be happy of the idea his wife could be heading into a dangerous job?”

“I assure you I will protect her as will your brother,” Walter promised in a firm voice, “Now, before I was given this case as top priority by the Chief I had recruited Elias to assist us in the theft of ancient textbooks confiscated in previous cases because of their dark magic origins. I figured you could help us since you had permission by the Ministry to study dark magic to help us combat it. Someone are using these books and if they fall into the wrong hands, it can be problematic.”

Immediately, his violet eyes connected with his wife’s, “Before anything is agreed upon, are you sure you are feeling well enough to do this?” he asked, concerned over her recent illness, “I don’t want to be under any stress if you are sick.”

Running her fingers through her hair falling down her shoulder like a curtain from its angled tilt as she rested her chin upon her palm, she softly smiled at him, “You worry too much but I will be fine with your father and brother beside me.”

He turned to his father, “Please keep an eye on her and don’t let anything happen to her.”

“Why would I bring harm to a woman I consider my daughter, Klaus?” his deep voice almost sounded offended by Klaus’ begging plea to watch her as if he wouldn’t do that much, “I would never allow harm on my family.”

“So, when do we leave?” Asana confidently asked, seeing they were expected to agree to help and had willingly accepted the challenging missions with an open mind.

“Right now.”

Finishing the last of the tea, Randolph handed Asana a slip of paper, “I have an extensive understanding of the mission before you and have arranged for Conrad to organise a collection of dried potion ingredients which may be helpful to you along with some already developed vials of tranquilliser potions to assist in the rescuing of any magical creatures. He should have a bag prepared.”

As he said so, a loud knock rattled the door, “It is Conrad.”

“Come in,” Randolph invited his old friend inside the room.

With a twist of the door knob, the black coats layered over his body stood out in the bright room. In his hand, a large and brown leather bag with a secure silver zip looked full with everything she could need to succeed in this job. “Thank you,” kindly she thanked Conrad for going to the trouble and then delivering it to the office.

“If there is nothing more,” Walter bowed his head in respectful appreciation for the Headmaster’s assistance, “Thank you for helping us as always Randolph but we shall be leaving now.”

“I am more than willing to assist the Ministry with whatever they need,” the charismatic and usual smile he had not walked into the room with reappeared on his face as he left the office with Conrad in toe, the black clothed professor leaving the bag in her capable hands.

After cleaning the used tea cups and grabbing their wands, they were ready to leave the academy with Walter. “Ready?” he left the room first and walked down the hallway, creating some distance between Klaus and Asana as he locked the office door and she comfortably gripped the handle of the bag with one hand.

Taking her hands in his and out of earshot of his father, he quietly voiced his worry to her, “Listen, I want you to be cautious with this case and stay close as possible to my father or brother,” he said, “Whatever is going on feels…strange and I don’t like him involving you in this at all.”

“You think so?”

“My father does not pursue ‘strong theories’, as he called it, without having hard evidence,” he squeezed her hand, “You were the one to ask for a formal investigation into his misconduct and malpractice of magical creatures, then he suddenly leaves and several months’ magic creatures have been going missing. Tell me you don’t see the link here.”

She thought for a moment and the theory made sense. Stopping in her tracks she turned to Klaus and gave his cheek a sweet kiss, “I promise I will not be reckless, please don’t worry too much.”

“I love you Asana and the thought of something happening to you where I am helpless to protect you makes me quite anxious, especially when you are unwell.”

Hearing his caring words touched her heart and sent a warm bubbly feeling through her body. This time her lips pressed against his in another sweet kiss, “I love you too Klaus and I love you for caring about me,” her lips pressed against his again and her body hugged against his, “But, I am going to be surrounded by powerful wizards so there is no reason for you to worry about me. Okay?”

“I am always going to worry even if you tell me not to,” he replied and bumped his forehead gently against hers, “I wish we were on the same case that why I can protect you myself.”

She giggled, “Why do I feel—.”

“Klaus! Asana! Hurry it up!” Walter interrupted her with his loud roar from down the end of the corridor where the sun brightens the long hall to accentuate its ancient architecture.

“Coming!” she replied, “We better get moving.”

Hurrying to catch up to Walter, they made it to their express train back to the city. Occupying a cabin, Walter sound-proofed the walls with his magic and kept the half-glass half-wood cabin door closed with venetian blinds for extra privacy. Klaus and Asana sat across from him as he began to speak freely about Klaus’ case. “Let me tell you more about the case I want you to lead with your brother.”

“Yes, you said something about ancient dark magic textbooks being stolen?”

Walter nodded, “Yes, they were stolen from the country’s Universal Library of Magic.”

Klaus expression turned to surprise, “How did they manage to smuggle books out the Universal Library. Not only can you not use magic when you enter the premises but only people with special permission can enter the place.”

“Isn’t it also heavily guarded?” Asana asked.

Walter nodded, “Everything you have said is true which is why we are quite anxious of the identity who stole these books. It is not an amateur, these thieves knew exactly what they were after,” he said, “Nothing else was touched, just these textbooks.”

“What type of magic is used in the textbooks they have stolen?” switching into investigator mode, Klaus wondered what type of magic they were after they could track the thieves using those different avenues.

Disappointing news awaited Klaus, “We went down that avenue but the descriptions of the books were stolen along with the books. They knew what they were doing,” but he had another idea for an avenue to pursue, “Your brother is sniffing a trail to find someone who knows about the books and Luca is with him. He is doing that today. Otherwise, the thieves knew the layout of the library.”

“Sounds…professional,” Asana, who had been listening, suddenly blurted out her honest thought.

“We were thinking that too,” across from them, Walter’s stomach growled in hunger but he ignored it, “We were about to go speak with the curator of the library before the Chief handed us this job dealing with Edric and these creatures. Though, I should tell you, there is quite a market value for these books.”

“You think someone sold them for the money and not to use the magic?” Klaus thought about it, “That doesn’t make sense,” he doubted money was the possible motive for the crime.

“I agree. There are dozens of books in that library that would have a significant market value,” Asana agreed, “It doesn’t make sense to steal ancient textbooks into the practice of dark magic to simply sell them for a quick buck. If someone wanted money without drawing attention to themselves, I highly doubt they’d choose a book that would give them this much attention.”

Walter’s stomach growled again but he still ignored it, “Very true,” he agreed, “However, I will have you speak to the curator at the library and meet up with your brother in the afternoon when he returns from Silver City. He’s meeting with a professor who deals with ancient language and culture of the civilisation who wrote the dark magic.”

“Sure,” Klaus nodded, “Who have you interviewed so far?”

“The theft occurred during broad daylight,” his father replied, “We are going over where the theft occurred including speaking to several guards, running through the security feed and trying to determine if the thieves broke through the magic barrier to be able to use their magic to steal the books.”

Again, Walter’s belly let out a louder grumble causing him to sigh, “Dad, you shouldn’t skip meals,” Asana lectured, “It’s not good for your health or your mind.”

“What are you trying to say, Asana?” Walter cut a glare across to her.

She giggled and turned to Klaus, “I now see where you get it from.”

“Get what from?”

“FWS,” she abbreviated her made up illness, “Stands for Famished Workaholic Syndrome.”

“No, the reason for my lack of lunch is because I suffer from what every other husband suffers from.”

“Oh, what’s that?”

“I have a wife.”

Walter struggled to contain his laughter with his son’s complaint and her narrowed pink eyes.

“Do I make you suffer, Klaus?”

“Not all the time but the only reason why I skipped lunch today was because someone stole my cake from the fridge,” he argued, “You stole my lunch yesterday too.”

She had a reasonable excuse, “Hey, I have been sick in the mornings which means my breakfast isn’t being digested and then I am hungry by the time lunch comes along.”

“That makes no sense, but good excuse,” Klaus chuckled and weaved his fingers between hers, “Anyway, if you are going to lecture my father and I about not skipping meals to stay healthy you should not hesitate to consult a doctor if you are throwing up in the mornings. There’s something wrong with you and you should get it treated.”

“Hey! It’s not nice to say something is wrong with me,” she protested, “It’s probably just a virus, it will pass.”

“Why are you so stubborn?”

“The pot calling the kettle black is calling me stubborn,” she retorted, “You are no better Klaus.”

“We aren’t discussing me right now, we are discussing you and your refusal to consult a doctor.”

“I am a doctor.”

“To animals.”

“Are humans not animals too?”

Suddenly, Walter erupted into a fit of laughter. It was rare to hear Klaus being challenged but these small disagreements reminded him of the earlier years of his own marriage and the same little disagreements they still had, “You two remind me of Mary and I.”

Slightly embarrassed by their small disagreement, Klaus’ cheeks turned a shade of pink but he stood to his feet, “I am going to the dining car,” he said, “Do either of you want anything?”

“Salt and vinegar chips!” Asana cheered.

“Are you serious?” Klaus looked into her eyes with a confused look, “You just ate?”

“But I want salt and vinegar chips.”

His head tilted in further confusion because her request was strange, “I thought you don’t like salt and vinegar chips?”

“I don’t, but I really want some.”

“You are such a weirdo,” Klaus decided to go along with it and turned to his father, “Dad?”

“Surprise me.”

Sliding the door open with a loud noise, Klaus stepped out onto the vacant corridor and closed their cabin door again with the latch catching to secure their privacy. Remembering the cabin was soundproof, Walter apologised to Asana, “I had no knowledge you were unwell. For my lack of awareness, I apologise.”

“It’s not a virus,” Asana smiled across to him.

“You already went to see someone?” Walter asked, confused and worried, “I do hope it is nothing serious.”

Though it is unconfirmed, she had a feeling her symptoms were a result of a hot and long shower she shared with Klaus a few weeks back. “It’s nothing serious in a bad way,” her gazed longed into the thin air as her hand came to rest across her abdomen, she didn’t need a doctor to feel the life growing inside of her, “It’s happy news.”

Connecting her body gestures with her words, Walter stared at her in complete surprise and he could not speak for several minutes as he processed the idea of becoming a grandfather for the first time, “Have you told him?”

“Not yet, I want to wait and confirm I am first before I say anything to him.”

Her smile was contagious but he could only imagine how Mary would react to the news of possibly their first grandchild coming into the world, “You are not to leave my side during this mission, understand?”

“Understood, but please don’t say anything to him,” she smiled, “I want to tell him once I am one hundred percent sure.”

“I will keep your secret.”

For another hour and half, they would remain in the confined cabin of the express train to the city with further discussions over their cases and sometimes sitting in comfortable silence. Closer and closer, the city’s skyline came to view and the hard work would begin.

Before leaving the train as it rolled into the underground platform, Klaus turned to his father, “I will familiarise myself with all the intelligence you have collected on the case and then I will meet with the curator. You said Elias will be back by the afternoon?”

“He should be, yes,” Walter had no problems with his course of action and turned to Asana, “We have a meeting in the conference room. We will get you up to speed with the details of the case too.”

Unlike the large town near the academy, coming to the capital city was like moving in a never-ending sea of people, especially during businesses days. Skyscrapers were like human constructed trees, reaching the heights of the clouds. She held Klaus’ hand so not to lose him in the crowd since she wasn’t comfortable with wandering on her own. They walked from the train station to the headquarters of the Ministry, a large and tall building occupying a corner between two streets with a polished foyer.

Being escorted into the building by Walter, no one would challenge Klaus or Asana for going beyond the foyer without an identification card. The elevator played classical music on low volume, it was intended to relax the people who rode the lift but it only agitated Klaus, “Are they ever going to change the music?” he complained.

“I think it’s nice,” Asana smiled, “You can dance to your destination.”

“Do you see me dancing in the street, Asana?” Klaus raised an eyebrow up at her.

“It would be an interesting thing to see,” she laughed.

“Stop being silly,” he chuckled and pulled her into his embrace, “Balls are for dancing not elevators,” he gave her a quick kiss as the door opened on their floor.

Administration staff and agents worked hard to complete their tasks but they all made a clear path for Walter, the boss of his division and a feared and respected wizard across the kingdom. Julius had been waiting for him inside his office and had a coffee in one hand as he slouched across the sofa reading through new evidence.

“Julius,” Walter tapped him on the head, “Would you bring Klaus up to speed on the theft case while I bring Asana up to speed on the case with the magic creatures,” he ordered without room for him to question.

“There is a new development in the theft of the books too,” Julius’ voice faded into the background as he escorted his brother from their father’s office to somewhere quieter, “Elias just called and he is on his way back from his meeting with a professor, apparently an expert in the ancient language and culture of the Arminitian civilisation, but he’s dead.”

“Dead, how?”

“Murdered,” Julius pulled out a photo from the paper he had been reading from and showed his brother, “There’s weird markings all over the body but Elias and Luca agree it is a magic circle.”

Klaus analysed the picture for himself and could see where the lines began to curve around the torso and line with the markings across the arms. However, the markings were in a language he had never seen before. “Well, I would agree it is a magic circle but is this the ancient language of the Arminitian people?”

“Elias said it is.”

“Right,” Klaus nodded, “I suppose it is too early to ask why someone would use the book to commit murder but we need to be clear that these markings came from the book which was stolen.”

He opened the door to his own office but entered before Klaus, “Elias has been using my office to help us with the case so naturally he has left everything here. We have a list of the theft books from the universal library but we are yet to speak with the curator. Since Elias and Luca are already at the scene with the dead professor, you can revisit the library and speak with the curator, see if you can pick up anything we might have missed. We are still in the early stages of this investigation but until Dad and I return from this case, it’s all yours.”

“So, I am simply standing in until Dad and you return from the exciting job,” he sarcastically accepted the file from his brother’s hands.

Julius leaned against the front of his desk and smiled at his little brother’s sarcastic joke, “Well, I don’t consider being outside my comfort zone exciting that’s why we recruited Asana to assist us,” he sighed, “Dealing with humans is quite different than dealing with creatures.”

“True,” Klaus couldn’t disagree and respected Asana for being able to handle magical creatures, “I respect her strength and bravery to be able to handle those beasts but if a Tamer can’t than who can.”

Several minutes of silence passed between them as Klaus read over the new evidence but his attention returned to the report which started this complicated issue, “Asana told me how she came to you for help to launch the initial investigation into Vitkevich. Do you think he stole your copy of the original report?”

Julius began to chuckle, “As the saying goes, a gazelle can get a head start on the cheetah but eventually the cheetah will catch him. He’s the gazelle and we are the cheetahs,” his analogy made Klaus smile.

“Do you think Edric has something to do with the missing creatures?”

“No doubt in my mind he has,” Julius said, “After Asana launched the initial investigation, we had several other tamers, agents and magical creature nurses and vets come to us and put in their own complaints regarding his conduct and mistreatment of the creatures in his care. Complaints of wrong diagnosis and medical treatment. After investigating him, we found strong links between him, a high-ranked agent in the creature’s division and black market auctions, selling, living magical creatures as well as parts of deceased creatures, to dark wizards.”

“So, this is the strong theory?”

Julius nodded, “Edric and his accomplice, Jeanine Duvall, ran.”

“What about the creatures disappearing from the forest and from hospitals?”

“Thefts,” Julius answered, “The creatures in the forest were scared into traps. It is hard to trace them since there is no magical trail, they are covering up their tracks quite well but I have no doubt in my mind they are behind these crimes.”

“You need evidence too,” Klaus reminded him.

“I am aware of that and I will get it,” Julius’ tone was determined.

“You are annoyed because he stole something from your cabinet, aren’t you?” Klaus chuckled.

His question brought back a memory from when they were kids, “You of all people know I don’t like it when my things are touched let alone stolen from under my nose.”

“Yes, I remember,” Klaus chuckled, “Though, you allowed Elias to do whatever he wanted.”

“Ah, but Elias asked me first and between the two of you, he’s nicer.”

Klaus rolled his eyes, “Whatever. If you don’t mind, I have work to do.”

“This is my office.”

“Not at the moment it’s not,” Klaus moved behind the desk to sit in the comfort of the leather seat to read through the new evidence.

“Don’t get too comfortable and don’t move anything out of place,” Julius teased and motioned to leave the room to allow his brother to think in peace, “Good luck.”

Re-entering his father’s office, Walter was catching Asana up on everything they already knew. “What creatures have been stolen and is there a way to find out what parts are being sold on the black market?” she wondered.

“High to low creatures have gone missing,” Walter handed her a list of creatures, “There may be more than what is listed but I hope there is a chance we can find some of these creatures alive and unharmed.”

“Well, if these creatures are still alive there might be a way for us to track their magical residue if their magic has not been sealed.”

“Sealing the magic of a high-end creature would take a considerable amount of power,” Julius commented, “Wouldn’t it?” though, he wasn’t sure.

“Usually,” Asana began to explain, “Years ago, Randy developed these cages to assist the magical creature unit in helping to restrain the magic within high-end creatures in cases where they were injured yet to agitated to allow humans close to them. Sealing their magic by wand is incredibly difficult. Only exceptional tamers like Randy and myself could do something that powerful.”

“We will start there,” Walter said, “Find out who last had those cages and nets or if the tool was reinvented by anybody recently.”

Meanwhile, Klaus had quickly caught up with the evidence and intelligence collected on the theft of the ancient textbooks and gathered his materials to revisit the library to talk to the curator in charge of the collection. Leaving the floor at the same time, Klaus met his wife, brother and father at the elevator.

“Promise me you will not be reckless?” Klaus turned to her.

She giggled, “I won’t be, stop worrying.”

“It is natural for a husband to worry.”

Leaning over on the tip of her toes, she planted her lips on his cheek, “Thank you for worrying about me Klaus,” she understood his worry and felt his love fluttering through her heart but she gazed around her, “Besides, I am surrounded by powerful wizards who have my back. Please concentrate on your job so you don’t get hurt.”

“Who do you think I am? I won’t get hurt.”

The elevator chimed as the doors opened. After the group of people filed out through the doors, they entered with Asana turning to Walter with an idea, “If it is alright with you, while you and Julius go to inventory to see who last checked out the creature cages, I think I would be more useful going to the hospitals and shelters where the creatures were taken and then going to the Natural Reserve to speak with the ranger there. That way I can determine which creatures were taken.”

“Take Julius with you, I can check inventory myself,” Walter agreed.

Like that, the plans changed but Walter was not about to leave her alone with the secret she’s keeping in the back of his mind, “Take care of your sister,” Walter ordered Julius and was the first to vacate the elevator.

Leaning backwards into Klaus, she looked at him from a slight upside-down angle, “Where are you going?”

“Universal Library to talk to the curator of the ancient textbooks and to try and establish how the robbery was committed in the first place,” he smiled at her adorably framed face, “Elias and Luca will be late on coming back since there has been a murder.”

“Murder? By the spells from the book?”

“Possibly, at least that is what Elias has told Julius.”

“I wonder if it is random or a targeted act?” she pondered, “Either way, sounds unpleasant.”

“Murders aren’t supposed to be pleasant, darling,” Klaus bobbed his finger on her nose, “Remember what you promised this morning, you keep looking at me like that you will hurt your neck.”

She regained her posture and turned her body around to face him, “You can’t be serious?” she tried to gauge if he was teasing her, “I promised myself to you tonight on the basis we would be returning to our home tonight. It’s different now we are here.”

“What’s the difference?” he smirked, “We will be staying at my parents’ house.”

Suddenly, Julius felt like he was in an awkward position and was possibly forgotten with the two talking in their own world. He cleared his throat and hoped the door would open at any second, but it didn’t. Instead, it stopped at a few more floors on the way down and he was relegated to the back of the elevator with Klaus and Asana continuing to talk. He spoke up instead, “While I am proud my little brother is not going to die a virgin,” he whispered so strangers would not hear him, “I do not wish to hear it.”

“I don’t recall including you in this conversation,” Klaus retorted.

At last the elevator door opened to the carpark and it felt strange for Asana to jump into the passenger seat with Julius, in place of Klaus, as he drove carefully from the parking lot. Klaus opting to fly to the library by broom.

The real work had started and both cases would take multiple days to solve.

Brown – that was the best word to describe the old library. The building was several stories high but it was a depressing place to visit or to work within. Unlike a public library, this library was more of a storage home for old books that are not used often but are too important to destroy.

Polished wooden brown shelves, likely made several centuries ago, shined under the light orbs of the poorly ventilated location. Noticing the lack of ventilation, Klaus could smell the dust and ink of the old books, most having brown spines with an inviting golden inlay, and it ruled out the old-fashioned breaking in through the vents. As he stepped along the floor seeking the curator, the wooden planks below his feet deceivingly echoed his light footsteps as being heavy. Past many shelves, he noticed magic gates locked the most restricted areas of the library.

“Ah, you must be Klaus Goldstein, Walter’s boy?” Snapping Klaus from his senses, an elegantly suited old man, easily beyond his sixties, with hair as white as a bed sheet extended his hand for a handshake.

“Yes, you must be the curator of this library?”

“Curator?” the old man laughed, “That is a rather nice way to put being the caretaker. As for calling this place a library, it is more a museum for unused but important books but no can come here simply to view these relics whenever they would like. Please, call me Alfred Goldsmith.”

His early perception of the old man that he was agreeable and willing to help the investigators do their job without much restriction, “Mr Goldsmith, I understand magic is unable to be used in the library due to the nature of the spell books housed here—.”

“Ah! You are talking about the magic barrier,” he interrupted Klaus, “Follow me, young man.”

With a lantern in hand, the elderly man escorted Klaus down several flights of stairs. From the exercise, the old man coughed unpleasantly and breathed heavily but he continued without a complaint. Compared to the darkness of the library above, the basement was as dark as night with the odd streetlight illuminating a fraction of path.

“Is there a barrier device which prevents wizards from using their magic within the library?”

In the basement, Klaus struggled to see but could hear the running of equipment which kept library operating. “Yes,” the old man stood next to a pole and near a locked box, “However, this device runs on an algorithm. Walter Goldstein created this device in his very young days before he was married and had children, such a talented man your father is, but it prevented the use of magic as people walk through the building but does not restrict the magic to run the lights and the gates in the restricted sections of the library.”

Klaus looked from the old man to the device secured in the box. Without looking at the device, Klaus could tell it was working because he could not feel his magic energy flowing through his body. However, he had an idea, “Is it possible for the device’s algorithm to be altered?” he asked.

“Yes,” the older man nodded, “But, it would take time.”

Ignoring the old man, Klaus pressed a button on the device. Suddenly, his own powers previously sealed began to flow once again through his body. On the screen of the tool, a countdown clock counted backwards from five minutes. Curiously, the old man watched his experiment and remembered something years ago, Walter had told him, “Oh, this is an emergency feature,” the older man stated.

“I know,” Klaus now knew how the thieves managed to disable the magical barrier surrounding the library, “Someone who knows the place knew how the device worked and knew the layout of the library.”

It felt like a short five minutes, but once the clock had finished counting down to zero the screen went black and he felt his own magic being sealed once again. He pressed the button again and timed how fast he could get from the basement to the shelf using his magic. Taking a book from the shelf, he teleported well within a few minutes and not a sensor sounded an alarm when he had taken a restricted book outside. With the system back in place, his teleportation into the building was blocked.

Meeting with the curator again, Klaus asked a question, “In total how many books were taken?”

“A total of twelve books were stolen,” he said, “They were all from the same collection of ancient Arminitian Dark Culture. This civilisation existed centuries ago and pioneered many dark magic practices from curses and potions which modern dark wizards use to this day. The Ministry managed to find all twelve books but kept them in case they needed to reference dark magic during their cases.”

“Who has access to these books?”

“Myself and only high ranking Ministerial agents with a court clearance to consult the books,” his impressionable humorous attitude Klaus had met with had no vanished, “They are kept not only behind a magic gate but also a glass shelf enhanced with magic. It is near impossible to penetrate with magic.”

“This is certainly a calculated theft, they knew what they were after,” he muttered, “Assuming there is special access to this library, is there a daily record of people who enter the building?”

“Ah, yes, right this way,” the older man now escorted Klaus to a back office, likely belonging to the curator where he worked on his many duties in peace, privacy and comfort. “Run by the Ministry, there is tight security on this library because of the nature of some of these books.”

“Try looking as far back as one month,” Klaus recommended.

“Right,” the old man agreed and then set the records down in front of Klaus, “Not to be rude, I have a matter I must attend to in the library but I will return soon.”

“That’s fine,” not giving as much as a smile, Klaus remained in the office where he could look over the records naming people who had come into the library. “Elias Goldstein,” he was surprised to see how often his brother came to the library, “That seems normal,” he chuckled.

Still, he continued to list names which occurred the most, even his own brother despite knowing Elias wouldn’t have a bone in his body to dare use dark magic. Other names which recurred the most were two – Sadie Laurence and Edgar Renieri. Of course, he did not rule out any guards either and had each person provide him with an alibi on the night the books had disappeared.

He spent most of the afternoon at the library running through his own experiments to determine how the barrier system could be tricked but even under a magic disguise, the record system could reveal the true identity of the person beneath the mask.

“Mr Goldsmith,” Klaus spoke to him several times during his individual investigation but he had everything he needed for to continue the investigation, “I will be leaving now. Thank you for your time.”

Startled, the old man stood to his feet from his desk and extended a gentlemanly handshake, “Any Goldstein is welcomed here,” he laughed, “Your little brother, Elias, comes here often too. He’s a nice young lad, also interested in these old tomes and grimoires to help with his work at the Ministry and inventing magic tools. He reminds me of your father when he was young.”

“I will be sure to tell him,” inside his mind, Klaus laughed at his brother’s predictability and would immediately cross him from the list, “Expect us to come and go Mr Goldsmith.”

“I will be here.”

Farewells completed, he was shocked to learn the sun had begun to set from when he had arrived to conduct his own investigation. However, with a library poorly ventilated and shrouded in darkness, it would be easy for anyone to lose track of time and suspected the old man’s dry cough was likely caused by the dust trapped within the air. He could see his own suit was dirty from spending those few hours inside.

The skies were clear of clouds but a cool afternoon breeze lingered in the air as it gently brushed across his face. Temporarily, his thoughts wandered away from his own investigation and he thought about how Asana was coping with his father and brother. Soon, they would be reunited for the night.

Majority of her day was speaking to the workers at the hospital and the national park ranger to determine how many creatures and what species of creatures were captured unnoticed. At her former place of employment, she noticed the alarm system had been disarmed with magic and the nets and cages were reported missing several months ago to the division.

“No one asked why there was no investigation into the theft?” Julius asked the manager of the hospital.

“I had made the initial report but we were simply issued new nets and cages,” she replied, “I didn’t think anything of it and that’s when we heard creatures were disappearing from the forest too.”

Although it was an honest and carless mistake, Julius didn’t linger on it too long despite his exasperated sigh. Asana roamed around the holding area where the injured animals were left to recover under observation, she left Julius to the interview. “Psst, girl!” something called out to her.

“Huh?” she turned her head to the cages behind her.

With an injured wing and paw, the creature had deep emerald eyes and black bristly fur, the shade of an ash-obsidian. His size and body shape was the same weight and sleekness of an ordinary wild panther. They are fairy cats or Cait Sith. “Yes,” she walked to the cage giving the beautiful creature her attention.

“You are hunting the human killing creatures?”

“Yes, do you know something?”

His deep green eyes were captivating, “I do because I escaped his net in time but my clan were captured,” he said, his head bowing in defeat.

“That’s right,” she remembered everything she had studied on these critically endangered species. Once a lone hunter, they formed prides like lions to combat their declining numbers and now travelled in clans to help each other survive. The large boy in front of her was the dominate male of the clan. “Tell me what happened, I can help you.”

“Can you save my clan?”

“Yes, I will,” she promised the creature.

The big cat leaned forward, “We were minding our own business when we were ambushed by four large foxes, magical creatures too. We tried to fight them, but they were too powerful. Many of my young children were mustered into cages and nets were thrown over the females trying to protect their cubs. Our magic was useless and eventually sealed.”

“Large foxes?” she tilted her head trying to think, “How many tails did they have?”

“Nine, each of them,” it chuckled, “They are Kitsunes, I believe they are under the command of the humans who captured my clan. A man and a woman controlled them but I followed them to a building in the forest it was near water. So many creatures are caged.”

“Where in which forest?” she asked calmly.

“In the northern part by the ocean near a castle,” being a wild creature he could not name the forest but he could tell her its details, “The forest is like a jungle with a leafy and bark ground. I apologise for I can’t name the forests since I don’t know the names, it is my home.”

“No, you have been more than helpful,” she wasn’t at a disadvantage since he described it she could find forests in the region to match, “The people here will take good care of you and I will try to get your clan back.”

She reached her hand inside the cage and gave him a gentle stroke on the head.

“Julius!” she quickly returned to her brother-in-law’s side and dragged him away by the arm, “One of the creatures in the hospital was an escaped victim of Edric and Jeanine. His clan was not so lucky but he followed their scent and found a building nearby an ocean where magical creatures are being caged.”

“Did he say which forest?”

“No, creatures don’t know the name of forests Julius,” she repeated the words of the creature, “However, he did mention seeing a castle and the forest was like a jungle,” her mind was ticking away, “It’s not enough for us to go on the words of what a creature told me but I have another way where we can find the evidence we need.”

“How?”

“I don’t know.”

“Let’s investigate by talking to some more people,” he said.

Interviewing shelter and hospital managers as well as the national park ranger, they uncovered how the creatures were disappearing. Using ambush tactics and surprise attacks, creatures were being captured or killed in the dark wizards grab for easy cash on the black market. They had a considerable list after Asana assessed the ecology of the forests around the city with Walter phoning ahead to other officials managing the ecology of creature populations across the kingdom for further insight.

Before long, it was dark but the next step they would take was unclear making the car ride back to the Goldstein residence evermore quiet as they mulled over the investigation.

#klaus goldstein #asanaway #WizardessHeart #wizardess heart fanfiction #creatures #darkmagic #lightmagic #walter goldstein #elias goldstein #Luca Orlem #ministry

38 notes · View notes

flawedimagination · 7 years

Text

Rae of Sunshine- Chapter 1 Challenge Accepted

Pairing: Eric/ OC

Fandom: Divergent

Rating: M

Summary: Rae thought Amity was where she belonged. Even with her dark past fuming inside of her, she had always done her best to suppress it. With Choosing Day approaching she was confident in her decision to stay in Amity. That is until a certain Dauntless Leader came roaring into Amity's gates. Once Eric has Rae in his sights he is willing to do anything to have her, even if that means breaking her and destroying the world she lives in.

A/N: Here’s the first chapter! Warning its a little long:) Hope you enjoy!

word count: 9,362

There were so many things going through Rae’s mind as she picked peaches and lightly tossed them in her bucket, never missing. With the Jovial Festival, her birthday, and choosing day approaching she could hardly focus on what Tibby was saying.

“Rae?.... Rae. Hello? Are you in there” Tibby buzzed as she knocked on Rae’s head trying to get clarification that she was listening. “Sorry,” Rae uttered fluttering Tibby’s hand away from her forehead. “There’s just so much coming up, I’ve kind of been out of my zone lately.” She admitted while taking in a deep breath hoping it would help clear her mind.

“I’ll say! Look at your bucket. It’s been over flooded with peaches for the past ten minutes.” She giggles as she points to the mountain of peaches tumbling down from Rae’s bucket. “Man!” She groaned in frustration. “Hey at least you met your ‘quota’ for today,” Tibby declared winking at Rae. “Look being that I am a good friend I’ll take half of your peaches off your hands,” she says giving Rae a mischievous smile. Rae could only laugh and shake her head. “Thanks. I do most of the work and you take half of the credit, yeah good friend you are.” She playfully sneered.

Tibby proceeded to pluck a peach from Rae’s bucket and examined it for a second. She then continued to take a bite out of the perfectly, juicy peach, letting the juice drizzle down the sides of her mouth while smiling. “Yep, that’s how this friendship works. You work and I grace you with my company!” She dramatically proclaimed. “Okay lazy. Let's get these peaches to the warehouse before Daniel thinks we ate them all like we did the strawberries.” Rae nudged. Tibby stood up defiantly putting a finger in the air, “I regret nothing from that day! I felt so ‘Dauntless!’” She proudly proclaimed. The girls then evenly distributed the peaches into each of their buckets. Soon after Tibby swung her arm around Rae’s shoulder as they made their way back to the warehouse where Daniel would surely be waiting.

Daniel was eight years older than Rae and Tibby. Being an Erudite transfer it was only natural to give him a job having to do with analyzing and recording data in Amity. He was one of the members in charge of overseeing the amount of crops that came into the warehouse and how to evenly distribute it to all of the factions. He was a very scrawny fellow with short black hair and glasses. He didn’t look as intimidating as most Erudites did Rae thought, but he sure did act like one even being in Amity. But Amity was all about peace and acceptance, overlooking anyone’s past and looked to make a better future in harmony.

Rae often wondered if Daniel’s aptitude test said Amity and that was why he transferred. A lot of Erudites trusted the aptitude test and would follow the test even though they had the choice to choose whichever faction they wanted. When a person transfers to another faction they’re suppose to drop their old faction’s way and accept their new faction’s way of life.

Daniel, however, was still connected to his erudite roots. He would become very displeased when someone, specifically Rae and Tibby didn’t reach their “quota.” He would then insist adding extra hours to their shift as punishment. This new rule made everyone displeased because Amity usually tried to reframe from harsh punishment. More were shocked however when Johanna agreed to this new rule. No one understood why Johanna agreed to this new rule, no one but, Rae. She could see the Johanna was under a lot of stress because of the harvest not being fruitful as it has been in the past. Being the head of the faction that was to feed not only them, but also the rest of the factions. It was her face that would either be rewarded or blamed.

As the girls approached Daniel and his clipboard, they were greeted in a very “Erudite” way. “Hello Ladies. Did we actually meet our quota today?” he asked not taking his eyes of his precious clipboard. “Yep! Tibby only ate one peach this time.” Rae answered smirking at Tibby who was giving her an irritated look. This was payback for the peaches. Daniel shot his head up from his clipboard glaring at Tibby. Push the rim of his glasses up his nose he started at Tibby, “Do I need to reiterate to you how vital it is to gather the correct amount of supplies to nourish all five of the factions. One of the most important essentials for human life is to have a proper amount of subsistence’s. Now let me put that on a large-scale problem. That peach could quite possibly be the reason one faction has a shortage of food putting Amity in a crisis….” Tibby stopped him before he could go any further explaining how one peach could cause the ending of the world, “It was one peach, Danny! Plus I reached your ‘quota’ so go suck on some peace serum why don’t ya!” She said walking off fatigued from listening to him. Rae shrugged her shoulders giggling as she followed after Tibby.

“I just don’t understand. How can that be a member of Amity?” Tibby fumed. “I heard it was on his aptitude test and so that’s what he solemnly went by,” Rae answered while trying to keep up with Tibby’s pace. Tibby then slowed down her pace seeing how urgent she was moving, she then calmed herself before speaking “A true Erudite then. I wonder what our test will say? What do you think yours will say?” Rae could feel her worry flow back to her “I don’t know. Amity probably.”

Tibby could see Rae didn’t want to talk any further of the future, so she quickly changed the subject, “So are you nervous about singing at the festival?” Rae shot a look at Tibby and gasped. “Please don’t remind me.” She begged. Tibby patted her on the back and tried to reassure her “Oh come on. You have such a beautiful voice even if you don’t let anyone hear it. You’ll do great!” Rae just stared at the ground kicking a rock, “I know it's just the song I plan on singing is different from the Amity vibe.” She confessed. Tibby just nudged at Rae, “I’m sure it’ll be great! Besides Amity needs to experience other emotions once in a while.” Rae smiled and felt reassured thanks to her friend, “Well get ready then. I have to go meet Joshua to practice. Ill see you later.” Tibby eyebrows raised and containing a huge grin on her face, “Hmmm Joshua I hope you’re getting a lot of practice time in if you know what I mean.” She said in a menacing way. Rae just rolled her eyes and began to walk in the opposite direction, “Shut up” she murmured.

Rae had known Joshua since they were babies learning to walk. They used to make mud pies together while their parents worked in the fields. They played tag, stole cookies, and shared childish secrets as all little ones did. They were sweethearts, as most people would point out when watching the two stroll through the fields hand in hand with Rae carrying an array of wild flowers. The two shared a deep-seated bond as children. But all of that changed when Rae’s parents perished in the warehouse fire. After that night, Rae was never the same. She became closed off to almost everyone around her. It wasn’t until she was twelve that she started letting people back in her life, but by that point, she had built a barrier between her and Joshua. As they got older, they ran in different crowds only glancing a smile at each other from afar. Rae wanted things to be back the way they were before the fire, she wanted Joshua by her side, her true side.

As the festival approached, it was Poppy who had volunteered Rae, against her will, to sing one of her songs. She didn’t want to sing in front of all Amity by herself, luckily for her, Joshua was skilled when it came to the guitar. She knew this would be her only opportunity to get closer to Joshua before Choosing Day. So she bucked up her courage and walked straight up to Joshua and asked if he would be willing to help her with the music for her song. Reluctantly, Joshua gave her an enthusiastic yes.

Rae saw Joshua as the perfect man for her. Hell, he was the perfect man any Amity woman. He was tall, built with lean muscles giving him a masculine figure. His dark wavy hair, along with his well-groomed beard only complimented his features. It was Joshua’s eyes that made Rae go weak in the knees. Having golden brown allowed anyone to get lost in them. They were full of hope and kindness, which is what Rae needed. He was truly a divine specimen. Never showing an ounce of bitterness towards anyone in all his life. He was full of compassion and was gentle with everyone and everything.

He worked in the fields usually doing more heavy lifting than most. Rae usually kept her distance, watching him in awe. She would watch as his muscles flexed while plowing the fields or as his sweat would soak the back of his shirt, allowing an outline of his back muscle to shine through.

She would be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous about their first practice they had. She’d have to sing in front of him, the only people she’d let hear her sing were Poppy, Johann, and Tibby. Occasionally someone would catch her singing while walking past her, without her knowledge. Now she had to sing in front of the man who had the capability to take her breath away. This was harder than she initially thought.

The very first time Rae tried to sing in front of Joshua, she opened her with no words circulating out. Embarrassed and disappointed, tears began to form. How was she supposed to sing in front of the whole faction and when she couldn’t even sing in front of Joshua? She was about to make a hasty getaway towards the exit when she felt Joshua's arms wrap around her waist. Her eyes soon met his as she felt the wind get knocked out of her. “Hey, it’s okay. Take a deep breath and let it out. I’m right here Rae. You can do it. I believe in you.” And that was all he had to say to her. From then on practices became easier for Rae. With Joshua’s guitar skills and Rae’s talented voice, the song was coming together quite nicely.

She couldn’t help but smile when she thought of Joshua. They were rebuilding their friendship that she hoped to become something more. She began to fear with the festival approaching that would mean no more practices with Joshua. Rae wouldn’t have an excuse to spend time with Joshua. She began to wonder if he felt the same way about her as she did for him. Rae couldn’t tell with Joshua because he was very much Amity. He was always friendly and not afraid to give a caring touch to anyone. But there had to be deeper feelings with her she thought. To find out the truth Rae had put it on herself to make the first move at the festival. It couldn’t be a more perfect plan the festival would have a tranquil, romantic atmosphere for Rae to make her move. There would also be music, dancing and most importantly a shit ton of wine, along with a hefty supply of peace serum if need be.

Rae smiled to herself before entering the assembly hall. She could already hear Joshua tuning his guitar, but instantly stop when she came into his view. Joshua’s smile was so warm and inviting Rae couldn’t help but blush. There was no real reason for Rae to be so nervous she was an absolutely beautiful girl.

Many have said Rae strongly resembled her mother having warm ivory skin that was touched by the sun. Her soft golden brown waves framed her face well with her strong bone structure reaching all the way down to her waist. Rae’s eyes were probably the only physical trait she inherited from her father. They were piercing green, giving her the advantage when facing anyone if she would only realize it. She had always shied away because her figure. Much of Amity's women were small and petite not having much of a curve to their bodies. Thanks to her genetics and help from working in the fields, she acquired a strong hourglass figure. She had always been self-conscious about her hips, feel all eyes go to her lower region. Anything she wore only extenuated them, making her feel like a thing of meat around men. Except Joshua, he would always look straight into her emerald globes making her feel comfortable in her own skin.

Walking up to the platform, the lighting from the windows hit Rae perfectly enhancing her features. “Rae, I thought you quit the band for a second.” He joked while lifting his arms. “You would have a sorry band,” she answered examining the empty stage with a grin. “Besides I would never leave you to fend for yourself with only your guitar. Plus we both know I’m the only real talent here.” She teased. “No argument there,” he winked.

They soon finished practicing, establishing harmony with his guitar and her vocals. The day had turned to dusk and Joshua offered to walk Rae home to which she graciously accepted. The walk to Rae’s house was quiet, which made Rae anxious. She wanted to say something so she could stop the awkward silence, but when she looked to Joshua to speak he looked content with the silence so she kept forward in silence.

Once the house was in view Rae couldn’t take it anymore. “Joshua, do you think people will like the song?” she asked nervously looking to him for consolation. “Of course! They’re going to love it, Rae.” He said.

“You don’t think the songs too…I don’t know gloomy? It’s just not the Amity way. I don’t want to ruin the festival or anything. Maybe we should change the song and do something happier. Oh God, I don’t know ” She fretted covering her face with her hands in exhaustion.

“Rae,” he spoke softly taking her hands into his, “Your song is beautiful, and everyone’s going to love it. I love it and I’ve been wanting to tell you how glad I am that you asked me to play with you, Rae.”

Rae tried to control her breathing the best she could. “Thank you. I’m glad you wanted to play with me. I was nervous you’d say no, honestly.” She admitted. “I’d never say no to you Rae. I kind of wish we could have done this sooner.” He said. Rae felt her eyes swell with tears, but held them in. “I know. I was just nervous because I stopped talking to you or really everyone after my parents accident.” She said.

Joshua took a step closer towards Rae closing any space between them and cupped Rae’s cheek. “Rae, I never stopped thinking about you after that day.” She felt her heart skip a beat, trying to find the words to say back and all she could say was “Goodnight.” Joshua smiled and leaned in kissing her cheek. “Goodnight Rae.” He said as he started walking backwards still looking at Rae. Rae turned to open the door when Joshua called out to her again. ”Hey Rae! Save me a dance?” Rae just bit her lip smiling and gave him a nod. He then winked at her and turned to walk away.

Once Rae shut the door she could help but squeal with excitement. She kept rubbing her cheek trying to remember the sensation of Joshua’s lips. She wondered what it would’ve felt like if he had kissed her on the lips. She had never been kissed before and she now was planning on Joshua to be her first kiss and hopefully her first everything. The festival was her chance and she was going to take it.

It took her a moment to snap back to reality when she heard voices coming from the kitchen. As she inched more and more towards the kitchen she recognized the voices as Poppy and Johanna. Of course, she thought to herself, as she was about to make her appearance known she stopped as she began to listen.

“I just don’t know what to do Poppy. Everything feels like its all happening at once. I don’t know how much more we can take it.” She vented. “Don’t worry Jo. It’ll all work out in the end, it always does. We’ve faced hardships before and we’ll do it again.” Poppy tried to be encouraging as he always was, a true Amity. “It’s different this time. Poppy Daun…” Rae couldn’t take it anymore; she came bursting through the door stunning Poppy and Johanna.

“Rae! Where have you been? We didn’t hear you come in.” Poppy said. “I just got back from rehearsing with Joshua. What’s going on?” she questioned with worry all over her face. “Oh rehearsing with Joshua. You two are getting pretty close.” Johanna was trying to defer Rae’s question, but before Rae could protest Poppy jumped in. “Joshua? Don’t tell me I need to start watching the fields more closely now.” Johanna laughed “It's not a bad idea with the two making googlie eyes at each other”

“We don’t make ‘googlie’ eyes at each other.” She mumbled. “Is everything okay seriously.”

Johanna stood up from her seat quickly, giving Rae a smile “Oh everything’s fine. We were just discussing the festival. Oh! my I should go it’s getting late.” She walked over to the doorway to where Rae was standing. She gently took Rae’s head bending it down to plant a kiss on her forehead. “Goodnight Rae. Don’t worry everything’s fine. You should get some sleep as well. I can’t have you slacking in the orchard tomorrow.” Rae gave her a smile and nodded her head. Johanna laughed to herself taking Rae in a hug. “Oh my child, I love you. Goodnight and goodnight Poppy, you old mule.” She laughed turning to walk out the house. “Goodnight,” Rae called out watching as Johanna walked out the door. She then turned her attention to Poppy, who was leaning against the counter.

Rae gave Poppy a concerning look to which he shrugged “What?” he said trying to push pass the subject. “You must be starving! Here! How about some fire roasted veggie soup.” He didn’t wait for her to answer moving swiftly through the kitchen pouring the steaming hot soup into a bowl gesturing her to sit. Rae moved into the chair with her eyebrow still raised knowing Poppy was avoiding her curiosity. He finally sat down with his own serving looking very pleased with himself. Without any hesitation, he took a spoonful of the scalding hot soup. After attempting to swallow the searing liquid, he quickly went looking for any type of beverage to take the heat away from his already burnt tongue. Rae burst out with laughter at the scene that was unfolding in front of her.

“Poppy, why don’t you let the soup cool before you go and dive into it? You’ll burn your tongue then who else is Johanna going to gossip with!” Rae giggled. Poppy grinned at Rae as he swallowed the hot soup. “Sweet Pea you forget. I’m a great listener!” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. Rae watched the old man continue to burn his mouth while still smiling at her. For a wise man he sure did act like a child Rae thought.

With a mouthful of the roasted veggie soup, Poppy attempted to have a conversation with Rae. “So how are rehearsals going with…what is it James?” he muddled. “His name is Joshua and they're going quite well as a matter of fact.” She stated stirring her soup.

“Well that’s good. I don’t have to worry about ole Joshie do I? I maybe an old Amity, but I could bring out my Dauntless side if need be.” He babbled. “Maybe you should take a double dose of peace serum. I have no doubt in your capabilities.” She cracked.

“Hey my dauntless side comes in handy. Especially when breaking a stallion. That’s what all men are like and you remember that too. When you find Mr. Right, break him it’ll be better in the long run. All men think they’re better off running a muck being assholes…”

“Poppy!” Rae gasped. “I’m serious Rae. Men are horrible only a good woman can straighten them out.” Poppy said sternly. “I’ll keep that in mind Poppy, but I don’t think I’m going to have to break him.” Rea gushed.

“Well then where’s the fun, where’s the challenge? Let me tell you, your grandma got a hold on this stud and I thought I put up a good fight, though. But she broke me, broke me good too.” He reminisced while smiling. “Okay Poppy can we please talk about something else. Please. Anything.” She begged, feeling embarrassed. “I’m just telling you, Sweet Pea, the best love is the fighting kind.” Rae just looked off hoping to move on from the subject.

“Oh alright! I’ve heard a lot of people are excited about you singing. Some people said they didn’t even know you could sing. Why don’t you sing more often, you have such a beautiful voice.” Not the subject Rae wanting to discuss, she stood up taking the empty bowls to the sink keep her back to Poppy. “Wow! I’m exhausted, aren’t you? I better get to bed.”

“Before she could even try to wash the dishes, Poppy came up right beside her looking down at her. “Your parents would be extremely proud of the young lady you’ve become.” He spoke softly. Trying to keep the tears from forming she through her arms around him, placing her head gently on his broad chest. “I wish they were here,” she whispered. “Me too Sweet Pea. Me too.”

“You go on. I’ll tidy up around here. Goodnight sweet heart, I love you.” He kissed her head before releasing her. Rae made her way through the kitchen before turning to Poppy. “Night Pop Pop.” Rae smiled.

“Goodnight Sweet Pea.”

Rae made her way through the house to her room. Once the door was closed she took down the rest of her hair, running her fingers through her soft waves. She walked to her bed stripping her clothes off, replacing them with her nightgown. As she crawled into her bed Rae snuggled herself between the soft cotton sheets.

She looked out the window behind her bed to gaze at the stars. Rae usually stared at the stars to help her go to sleep. It's what her parents would do before tucking her in at night. Her father would point out all the different kinds of constellations and tell her stories. While her mother would point out falling stars so they could make wishes together. Her mother had a ritual for making wishes with Rae. You had to keep your eyes shut tight while holding your breath for five seconds. You had to think long and hard to focus on your wish or else it wouldn’t come true. After that five seconds, you had to take a deep breath in and then slowly let it out. Rae and her mother would do this every night. Shortly after her parents died, Rae stopped this ritual.

As a child, being told a wish would come true by this ritual, only to have her hope crushed when she realized she couldn’t wish her parent’s backs. Rae wished every night for a month after the accident for her parents to walk through the door. Rae thought maybe if she were to hold her breath longer and think hard that would be the solution but all it did was turn her face blue and causes more migraines. She finally gave up feeling anger and resentment towards her parents for lying to her. They told her if she wished hard enough it would come true. When they died it killed Rae inside but when her hope was crushed it completely changed her.

And so that anger inside of Rae grew uncontrollably. She began shutting everyone out. Most people thought that Rae was just grieving over her loss, but underneath her rage boiled. She hated everyone around her, she hated how happy and content everyone else was. She had felt that at one time and had it ripped away from her. She would wonder how everyone could go about their lives with what had happened. She wanted them to feel what she felt but knew that would be impossible as she was in Amity where everything was peaceful and loving. Their world kept turning as Rae’s stood still.

A couple of months after her parents passing, Rae wondered off to the edge of Amity towards the fence. She stumbled upon an area that looked like a war zone; covered in broken bottles, scrap metal, and other dispensable junk. It was here where Rae would let herself go.

She would break, kick, and punch anything that was in her way. And it would be dangerous for anyone to try and interrupt her. This was her hazardous zone. It was here where Rae saw the destruction she was capable of. After her outburst of rage was over she would walk back to Amity as if nothing had occurred.

One day Rae decided to go purge herself, not knowing a pair of eyes were watching her. Once she had made it to her destruction site, she let the real Rae out. She found what look to be an old, rusted crow bar. She then came to an old broke down car covered in moss and roots. It looked like the car had tried to escape the destruction of the war that happened so long ago. It didn’t take her long to cause her own destruction to the old abandoned car. She wailed as she began pounding the car. Smashing the windows, diminishing the body of the old Junker. But using the crow bar wasn’t enough for Rae; she soon started using her fist to pummel rest of the car. She cried out with every punch she threw. Rae crouched down to the pounding her fist into broken glass bottles. Her hands became numb to the pain, which is the opposite of what she wanted. She wanted to feel the pain flow out of her. She picked up the shards of the shattered bottles and began clenching them in already damaged hands. This furthered the bottle fragments into her palms, being coated with her own blood and dirt. She finally felt the pain flow through her causing her bellow out her rage and cry clutching her broken palms to her chest.

All the sudden, she felt arms loop around her small fragile body. Rae looked up with her tear burning eyes only to find Johanna’s caring face. Rae wept in Johanna's arms at what seemed to be hours before Johanna cradled her and took her back to the Amity compound. When they made it back to the Amity Johanna took her straight to her own cottage. She didn’t say a word to Rae; she just smiled softly and began cleaning and repairing Rae’s crippled hands. She gently wiped the blood from Rae’s little palms. Johanna then carefully wrapped her injuries in pure white gauze. She hoped Rae’s hands would heal over time, but she knew Rae would carry the scars on her hand for the rest of her life.

Little Rae kept her head down, knowing that what she did wasn’t the Amity way. Johanna took Rae’s chin making her meet eye to eye. She only gave her a reassuring smile and held up a special cup of tea. Rae was hesitant but reluctantly took the cup sipping it little by little. She could feel the drowsiness come over her and soon drifted off. When she woke up she found herself in her bed.

She crept out of her room to see if Johanna was there and sure enough she was with Poppy in the kitchen in deep discussion, no doubt about her. Rae kept herself quiet concentrate on what they were saying.

“I don’t know what to do Johanna. I mean what can I do? I can’t stop her from feeling.”

“If you only saw her today, Poppy. I’ve never witnessed anything like it from a child. It was petrifying. Poppy, I’m scared she’s going to hurt herself or… someone else.” Poppy looked up at Johanna with tears streaming down his face.

“My poor little Rae.” He sobbed burying his face in his hands. Rae felt sick to her stomach. She didn’t know how much she could hurt someone, but after seeing Poppy she realized she didn’t want to hurt anyone. But along with that Rae didn’t know how to control it; she couldn’t help what she was feeling.

“Poppy, I think there’s a way to help her. Make her drink this it’ll help control her rage.” She said slipping a bag to Poppy. Poppy inspected the bag unsure of its contents. “What is it?”

“It’s a special type of peace serum.”

“Peace serum? Johanna, she’s only a child,” he said hold the bag.

“Trust me Poppy you don’t want to see the child I saw today, you don’t want it and I don’t want it. And you know Rae’s parents wouldn’t want it either.” She pleaded. Poppy took a deep breath, “You're right. It's what’s best for Rae.”

Rae made a decision that she wouldn’t fight Poppy when he placed the peace tea in front of her. Johanna was right it was to keep her and most importantly other safe. Rae would drink it and experience a calming peace. She would mellow out and would be back to her bubbly self. Poppy would decrease her dosage, as she got older and only give her more when she felt that bubbling inside her.

Rae never likes to think about her childhood, it was a dark part of her life. She’s tries to block it out and when she feels it creeping back in she’ll suppress it with some strong peace tea. Rae was dependent on her peace tea. Anytime she felt her rage boil inside of her she would run to her saving grace. Being in Amity, there was hardly a reason to become angry. Right? Rae didn’t think much of it and drifted to sleep.

The next morning was like any other morning for Rae. Poppy was usually gone before Rae was up. She would take her time and shower. She would be working in the apple orchard today so she wanted to wear something light and loose. So she went with a cream colored tank top, with a long red skirt with a slit that ended at her thigh. She let her hair air dry into her signature loose curls.

Poppy usually left Rae breakfast before he left along with her peace tea. Today he left her favorite, French toast with powdered sugar, drizzled with warm syrup. Unfortunately, Rae was running late, which wasn’t unusual, so she crammed a piece of French toast in her mouth and downed it with her peace tea. Then she was out the door.

Tibby was waiting for her as usually, patiently leaning against a tree staring at her cuticles. As Rae approached Tibby looked up unsurprised.

“I here by nominate you Amity’s new Miss Punctuality.” She smirked. “I know. I’m sorry it was a slow morning.” Rae apologized. “Hey! I’m not mad. Now I can’t say the same for our friend Mr. Daniel.” Tibby joked.

The girls made there toward the warehouse dreading their encounter with Daniel.

“So is there a reason for your lateness this time? Not getting enough sleep? Dreaming about a certain someone?” Tibby nudged. “No! I just have a lot on my mind.” Rae smiled.

“Oh you’re a horrible liar, you know that.” Rae really was a horrible liar; she always wore the truth on her face.

“Okay maybe I dreamt last night about a certain kiss I shared with a certain someone yesterday,” Rae said in a coy voice.

“Holy fuck! Spill right now! What was it like? Did he use tongue? Did he grab your butt? Oh my God did you have sex with him last night?” Tibby yelled. “Shhh. Oh my God Tibby! No! We didn't have sex! It was just a peck on the cheek!”

“Sorry I just like juicy details. I mean nothing interesting ever happens here. Excepted for that time someone put all the goats in Daniels house.”

“Oh yeah! I forgot ab….” Rae wasn’t looking when she slammed into the back of a familiar form. She gasped a sorry as she stumbled back embarrassed to see that it was Joshua.

“Careful there.” He said catching her by the arms. “I’m sorry it’s been a rough morning. I didn’t get much sleep last night.” She said.

“Me either.” He said smiling at Rae. She could feel herself blushing as she tried to avert from his eyes, which were stuck on hers like glue.

“Hey I promised Cara I’d help her and a few others make decorations for the festival. I thought since we were doing so well we could take a break today. I still want to practice tomorrow, but Cara said they really needed a lot of help.”

Rae tried to force a smile and hide her disappointment at the sound of Cara’s name. If there was any person far from being Amity it was Cara. She was obnoxious and egotistical. Her fiery red hair could symbolize her attitude. Cara was very manipulated and forceful always taking what she wanted. She always took the opportunity to point out someone’s flaws especially Rae’s. Cara tormented Rae when she re-entered the social scene letting her know who the alpha dog was. Rae usually tried to steer clear of Cara’s path avoiding her attention. But it would seem Joshua had her attention, probably because Rae was interested in him. This was just Cara showing her dominance over Rae. Rae could only hope come choosing day Cara would pick a different faction.

“Oh yeah its fine. We can just practice tomorrow.” Rae forced out her mouth with a genuinely fake smile.

“Thanks. I really can’t wait for the festival. You’re still saving me a dance right? I’m sure after your song there will be a line full of dancing partners.”

“Oh I don’t think I’ll have a long line of dancing partners.” Rae gushed. “I wouldn’t doubt it, Rae.” He smiled. Rae hardly even noticed she was still holding his hands. She bit her bottom lip looking down feeling Joshua gaze down at her. She looked up to open her mouth but was stopped by the sound of nagging in her ear from Daniel.

“Excuse me! We have five factions to feed, not to mention a festival! Let's move it, people. We have a quota to meet!”

“I’ll see you later?” Joshua asked before taking her hand to kiss. Rae could only mutter out an “okay” while watching him leave.

“Leave it to Daniel to kill a moment. Am I right? Come on Mrs. Joshua. Ole Dan-Dan’s right. Got to feed the five factions.” Tibby said while grabbing Rae who was still in a dreamy state.

For most of the apple picking Rae was still imagining Joshua and drooling over his words to her. She couldn’t tell if it was the peace serum or the fact that she was love-struck. She could imagine a life with Joshua at Amity. A house, two dogs maybe a cat, and three kids, two boys, and a girl. They would raise them together and be one big happy Amity family. She thought of their future while trying to pick at a branch that clearly had no more apples left on it. Tibby of course, sat herself against the tree staring up at Rae in amusement.

“God your twitter pated Rae.”

“No, I’m not I’m just happy. I am Amity remember.”

“Yeah, whatever you do please don’t choose Candor. Okay?” She laughed throwing her hands behind her head. “Oh god no I think I’d be a better Erudite honestly.” Rae gasped.

“Nope couldn’t be Erudite. If they’re all like Daniel count me out. I’d rather be Abnegation.” Tibby stated. “You wouldn’t last a day in Abnegation. I mean look at you.” Rae yelled pointing towards Tibby’s barely full bucket. “I’m a firm believer in breaks! They mentally prepare you” Tibby said in a matter of fact tone. “Oh really?” Rae questioned.

“Yes and hey maybe I’m on guard duty.”

“Guard duty? What are you Dauntless?”

“Maybe I am. You never know. Amity could have danger lurking around every corner.” Tibby said sticking her nose in the air. “Well if you’re Dauntless then you’re probably the danger lurking around every corner.” Rae sneered. “Oh come on. What’s wrong with Dauntless?” Tibby asked.

“They think they can just walk all over Amity just because they’re the Warrior faction and we’re the peaceful faction. And nine times out of ten its Dauntless that causes trouble for all the factions especially Amity.” Rae shot back.

“I don’t know I think they’re kind of hot. Just imagine you’re walking home and all the sudden you’re surrounded by the factionless. You try to run but they corner you and just when you think all hope is lost. Bam! A big, muscular, tattooed Dauntless warrior swings into action, kicking ass! To which afterwards, the sexy dauntless man scoops you up to take you to a clearing in the fields. You're scared, but at the same time turned on. Wondering what he’ll do next. And then he rips both of your clothes off and goes full blown Dauntless on you if you know what I mean.” Tibby said breathlessly.

Rae took a second to eye Tibby. She could tell Tibby was fanaticizing about her Dauntless sex hero. “Wow you’ve really thought long and hard about this haven’t you?”

“Only when I’m alone in my bed.” She nonchalantly says with a wink. Rae could feel her cheeks turn a faint pink color from Tibby’s comment.

“Well, I don’t see what’s so attractive about Dauntless men. I mean they’re barbaric beast with no sense of humanity. And all the tattoos and weird haircuts, oh and the piercings eww! No thank you. That’s just not attractive to me. And why the hell do they only wear black? It's like they’re going to a funeral everyday, which knowing them they probably are. They’re all muscle no brains. Just a bunch of meat heads.” Rae huffed.

“Remind to never tell you if I got Dauntless on my aptitude test,” Tibby said stunned. “Sorry. I know I shouldn’t be so judgmental it’s not very Amity.” Rae apologized. “Hey don’t let me stop you. Plus, it’s nice to see you get fired up about something. But I wouldn’t worry much about Dauntless, Amity is the last place they’d want be.” Tibby laughed. Rae attempted to laugh it off and clear her thoughts, but she could feel that little fire build inside her. She would definitely be having a cup of peace tea when she got home.

It was almost noon when Rae looked off into the distance and noticed something strange. It almost looked like a mini sand storm heading towards Amity’s gate. Looking closer she could see that it was a cluster of black armored trucks. As the truck neared closer she could hear the rumbling engines become louder and louder. It was obviously Dauntless approaching the gate. They liked to make an intimidating entrance when they came to Amity. This was strange though, Amity usually knew when Dauntless or any faction for that matter were coming. It gave Amity time to prepare and get organized. Chatter began to go through the orchard about the surprise visit. “What the hell is going on? Why Dauntless at our Gates?” Tibby asked. Rae shrugged her shoulders wondering the same thing. “I don’t know, but I have a bad feeling.”

As they both pondered the situation, their attention was soon directed towards Nilly skipping through the orchard telling people to head to the Amity Tree. Nilly was a few years younger than Rae and was usually carrying around water for anyone in need of hydration. Rae reached out to stop Nilly, “Do you know what it's about? Why is Dauntless here?” Nilly just shrugged and looked just as confused as everyone else. Rae let go and watched as Nilly skip off alerting others of the emergency meeting. Soon a herd of Amity made their way to the towards the Amity tree. Rae wondered if Poppy was there, she wouldn’t be surprised if he was. Poppy never was ashamed of his age and made a point to be there and be seen by other visiting factions.

In the back of Rae’s mind, she thought about Johanna and Poppy’s conversation last night. Was this what they were talking about? Why didn’t they tell anyone about the Dauntless visit? Soon all of Amity gathered in front of the Tree. Rae and Tibby were at the front of the gathering. Johanna was a few feet in front of the crowd waiting with a patient smile.

The Dauntless trucks roared into faction causing a stir of dirt and dust into the air as they came to a complete halt. Over a dozen of Dauntless soldiers poured out of each truck. All dressed in their signature black attire along with their ammunition accessories. Tibby and Rae tried to examine each face as they filtered around them. It looked like Amity was being swallowed up by a dark, menacing shadow. Each Dauntless soldier was mesmerizing to the Amity girls. They were far more muscular than most of the Amity men. With all the variations of hairstyles, piercings, and tattoos. Tibby gawked at every soldier nudging at Rae. Rae felt an uneasy feeling come over her as the hair on the back of her neck stood straight up. It was like there was a warning in the air for her not to look in the direction of the head truck but her curiosity got the better of her. And boy does she wish she wouldn’t have looked.

She watched as the door flung open with a wondrous Dauntless specimen descend with grace and agility. As he began strolling towards Johanna and the crowd it was apparent that this was no ordinary Dauntless soldiers. He gave off the presence of having power and complete control of the bodies in front of him. His arrogance radiated off of him as he made his way over, analyzing the Amity herd of helpless sheep not overlooking a single one of them. Many looked in every other direction to avoid his overpowering eye contact.

Rae watched every step he took as he inched closer towards her. With every step, she began to lower her head until she was staring at the dirt under her feet. Her breath hitched when two rather large black combat boots came into her view. If that wasn’t enough indication that he was directly in front of her the feeling of his hot breath roaming over her was. She tried shutting her eyes hoping he would move along, but when she peeked the same jet-black boots were still in front of her. Rae began to get annoyed, ‘what’s with this guy,’ she thought, ‘why can’t he just go move on away from me.’ Rae couldn’t help it if he wanted to intimidate her fine, but she would look her challenger in the eye. She took what little bravery and confidence she had left and lifted her head but was only met with a broad black chest. There went her confidence she thought. Not wanting to crane her neck to look anymore pathetic, she lifted her eyes instead. She was met with the deadly steel gray orbs that had the capability in that moment to destroy her.

He was frightening, but spectacular all at once. He was a mountain towering over her, completely made of muscle. As she continued to bravely scan the God in front of her, she found what appeared to be a tattoo peeking out from under his nicely fitted long sleeve black shirt, which covered his thick, muscular neck. She resumed back to her examination, which led her to his perfect chiseled jawline and appetizingly plump lips. His dark blond hair was neatly shaved on the sides leaving the top of his hair longer in a perfectly gelled wave. He was no stranger to piercings, having both ears decorated and one above his perfectly shaped brow.

Mesmerized by the living statue in front of her she had forgotten about the intense stare he was giving her. His steel gray eyes beamed her down, declaring dominance over her. It was too much for Rae, she felt something inside of her tingle and started to feel the heat hit her all at once. He gave her a menacing, victorious grin as she dropped her head looking to the ground for some type of comfort.

“Eric, Amity welcomes you.” Johanna greeted all while forcing a smile. Eric lazily glanced over his shoulder to acknowledge Johanna then drifted back to Rae who was still looking to the ground. And with that, he turned kicking a bit of dirt behind him sprinkling Rae while making his way to Johanna. Rae could finally catch her breath she had lost during her encounter with Eric.

“Johanna.” He nods giving her a sarcastic grin. “This is a surprise we weren’t expecting our Dauntless checkup for another two weeks.” She laughed trying to ease the tension. A few of Amity and even some Dauntless joined in on the laughter, but that only added to the intensity in the air.

Eric stood there unamused with his hands behind his back giving his posture an even more dominating look. He stared at Johanna with a composed, articulate look before speaking. “I think it's important to have these ‘Surprise Checkups’ it keeps everyone in line. Making sure no ones getting more than what they need and because as you probably already know there are some people who aren’t qualified to run things properly. So it’s our job to make sure the opposite of that happens, to weed out the weak that disrupt the system. But I’m sure Amity doesn’t have that problem. Right.”

Eric took a jab at Johanna hoping she would show some sort of grimace towards his words, but she was Amity and only smiled at his cruel words.

“Right you are and that is why we are grateful for Dauntless and their ‘checkups.’ Should we discuss some of these checkups in my office?” She pronounced.

“That’d be great.” He answered sharply.

“Alright everyone make sure our Dauntless friends feel welcomed. Now please get back to your duties and peace be with you.” She announced. The crowd then replied in unison “Peace be with you.” Eric only rolled his eyes at the hippy greeting.

He also addressed his company of Dauntless soldiers “Dauntless stay put until I say otherwise. Anyone who decides to disobey my orders will face the consequences you’ve been warned.”

His command was directed towards only dauntless but many felt like his command was to be taken in by everyone as a warning. And with that Amity dispersed leaving the Dauntless patrol, giving Tibby and Rae (mainly Tibby) the perfect opportunity to give them a good ole “Amity Welcome.”

“It seems the harvest came early this year, huh? God just look at them, Rae! All those muscles!”

“Calm down its not like you can take a basket and pick your favorites.” Rae nudged her to move towards the orchard, but Tibby was slick rolling her body back towards the Dauntless group. Before Rae protest Tibby’s decision, her curious friend picked up a basket of freshly picked apples. Looking satisfied with the basket of apples she through Rae a one last chance glance urging her to go with her. Rae didn’t want Tibby to be alone with them; worried they would take advantage of her curious Amity friend. Rae huffed and made her way to Tibby to continue with her towards the Dauntless brutes. Tibby spotted a good manly patch and walked right up to them smiling while batting her eyelashes.

“Hi ya. Welcome to Amity.” Tibby greeted while offering the four colossal men in front of her a freshly picked apple.

“Move the fuck along Amity.” One of the soldiers snapped but was quickly met with a loud smack to the back of the head by the rather larger Dauntless man beside him.

“Damn it Jake! Don’t be so fucking rude. Sorry ladies he not yet professional when it comes to faction relations. However, I am.” the large Dauntless man said. “Names Zeke. That fucker’s name is Jake. Blane and that Lady killer’s name is Luke.”

The best way to describe Zeke would be a grizzly bear. He was an immensely large man but seemed gentle with his curly dark hair. His lip ring almost went unnoticed due to the scruffiness of his thick beard.

Jake looked much younger than the group of men he was around. Rae came to the conclusion that he must have just gone through initiation that year. Unlike the others, Jake had clean skin no trace of any tattoos or piercing. His hair was slicked back, almost as if he was trying to copy the look of his leader.

Blane was terrifying to look at. He probably had more tattoos and piercings than all of Dauntless combined. He was a walking canvas. His scalp contained two symmetrical gun tattoos that appeared to be firing bullets that ended up on both of his temples. The bullets point to the word “Fatal” that was stretched across his forehead. Rae could tell he had many more; she examined every tattoo, piercing, and scar that was visible to her. After scanning Blane her eyes fell upon Luke whose eyes were staring at her with devious intentions.

Luke’s eyes were ivy green and full of mischievous. His head was shaved giving all the focus to the nasty scar that ran over the top of his eyebrow to his cheek. Just as Rae examined Blane’s art, Luke had examined Rae. She could feel his eyes piercing her body as she tried to look anywhere to avoid his gaze.

She finally met his eyes and as he smirked at her she moved closer towards Tibby invading her space. Tibby hardly noticed as her focus was on Zeke. “I’m Tibby and this is Rae. We’re so happy Dauntless is here. It's nice knowing Dauntless sends their best. I feel safer already.” She smirked. “You guys must be hungry. Apple?”

Zeke, Jake, and Blane through their hands quickly in the basket grabbing at the apples. Rae turned her head to Luke who was standing there still staring with a content grin on his face. “Would you like an apple?” Rae asked in a quiet undertone. “No thanks sugar. I want a more juicier fruit,” he said licking his lips. Rae could feel her cheeks turning pink with embarrassment.

“Haha! You smug bastard! Honestly ladies, you’re probably in more danger with us here.” Zeke laughed.

“ I like danger,” Tibby directed towards Zeke, inching closer to him. Zeke knew the game Tibby was playing to which he was happy to oblige her. “Oh you do don’t you. I’d be careful sweetheart, I’m a very dangerous man.” He leaned into Tibby begin inches from her face. Tibby’s breaths shorten as she bit her bottom lip. All the while Rae hesitated as she noticed Luke himself moving closer and closer to her.

“Tibby I think we need to be getting back to the orchard.” She said tugging on Tibby’s arm. “Rae its fine.” Tibby snapped.

“We should be getting back before…”

The sound of Johanna’s office door swinging open caught everyone’s attention. Dauntless knew this was a warning and scrambled to get in line. Rae and Tibby watched the frenzy in confusion. Tibby began stepping backwards grabbing Rae in the process. When they felt safe, the girls decided to watch what was about to unfold.

The fearless leader made long strides towards his troops with Johanna calmly following. As he made his way getting closer, Tibby and Rae continued to walk backwards in unison gazing at the fearless leader.

Eric stood in front of his Dauntless soldiers inspecting them intently. Everything seemed to be in tiptop shape before an apple core rolled in front of the rookie Dauntless Jake. Eric eyed the apple and smirked. He wondered over to the apple core and bent down to pick it up. Jake tried to stay calm and kept his eyes straight forward but was still sweating profusely. Eric towered over Jake with a playful smirk on his face, but his eyes reveal something different.

“Did you enjoy your apple?” Eric asked in a sarcastic tone.

“N…no sir” Jake answered unsure of what he should say. He tried to not make direct eye contact with Eric, which was challenging considering the fact that Eric was glaring at him.

“You didn’t? It sure looks like you did. Why didn’t you grab me one?”

Jake wasn’t sure he heard him correctly and stared at Erin in confusion. “I’m sorry, sir?”

“I said,” he violently grabbed Jakes jaw in a swift motion shoving the apple core mercilessly down his throat, “Why didn’t you grab me one? Don’t you fucking dare spit it out.” He commanded while holding Jake’s neck.

Eric’s eyes narrowed at Jake with a slight smirk on his face, as Jake was turning blue with Eric’s hands still wrapped around his neck. Rae felt the color drain from her face as she became nauseous. She had never seen such cruelty inflicted on a person before.

After Eric was satisfied with the shade of blue on Jake’s face he effortlessly shoved Jake to the ground, where he began to regurgitate chunks of apple. Eric walked around Jake, paying no mind to his heaving sounds, he was making to breathe. He stood in front of his Dauntless soldiers, emotionless, to address them.

“Let me be clear, this is not a vacation. You are not here to relax. You are Dauntless. You follow my orders and I’ll say it again if anyone chooses to disobey my orders will face the fucking consequences.”

He looked over his Dauntless troops and caught eyes with an Amity girl holding a basket full of apples, the same Amity girl that had tried to challenge him earlier that day. Eric then smirked at the horrified Amity girl and uttered “Ah the forbidden fruit… but not for long,” to himself. Rae could feel her heart beating in her chest. Her first instinct was to run, but something deep inside her told her not too. She slowly lowered herself to place the basket on the ground all while not breaking eye contact with the Dauntless leader. Eric furthered his stare at Rae letting her know that he was the one with the power and not her, but he was still intrigued. Rae stood up and gave him one last challenging look before turning to go back to the orchard.

Eric watched the young Amity walk away, back to the orchard. He watched her round hips sway from side to side as she walked wondering what it would be like the grab them and have them bend to his every whim. He smiled to himself and uttered, “Challenge accepted.”

#eric fanfic #eric coulter #eric divergent #eric insurgent #eric x oc #jai courtney #amity #dauntless #rae of sunshine #divergent #insurgent #eric divergent fanfiction #chapter 1

41 notes · View notes